A dog and a goose have become unlikely best friends in China after the dog rescued the bird after it was hit by a car.

Yu Yanping, who owns both animals, feared the worst when he saw his pet dog carrying the limp goose into the yard of his home at Jiujiawan village in Urumchi, northwestern China.

But it turned out the goose had been only stunned and it came round after being carried to safety by Yu's pet dog in the village, part of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

Yu, 47, said: "I thought he would eat the goose - but instead he put him down and licked the bird until it came round - and since then the two have been inseparable.