UPDATE:  In March 2010 Paladin went to his new home.  He has a new buddy named Mr. Hershey & a horse named Comet.  After a rocky start of too rough play, things settled down quickly & when he isn't playing with Mr. Hershey, he likes to stand with Comet in his large stall in the shade. 

UPDATE:  In March of 2010 Gus went to his new & I hope forever home.  He will have 3 geldings as friends, & a teenage girl to entertain him & they were excited to have him join their family.  We will miss him, Gus is one of those that finds ways to entertain himself, in many different ways......some good & some not so good.  But it was always done with style & flair...............!!!!

Judy has gone back to her owner now that her health problems are managed. She’s a riding mule, that has been having health problems for quite awhile. We know she is severely Insulin Resistant, which is like diabetes & with the proper diet can be controlled. She also has Cushings disease, which can also be controlled with medication.  Her owner had been trying to help her on his own for a few years and was so frustrated that he was ready to give up.  We were her last resort.  Her owner is very happy to have her home, and we think she's happy to be home too!

UPDATE:  In April 2009, Rocky went to his new home to be a companion for Harley.  The boys look like twins, are about the same age, & are young enough to spend a lot of time playing, which is so much fun to watch.  Being trained to pull a cart as a team might be in their future.

TWINKY:  

Sept 2007  A woman called wanting to find a home for a little donkey she bought in Dec 2007.  Twinky was very young to be weaned & her new home had no donkeys although there were 2 horses.  The horses rejected the baby donkey & wanted nothing to do with her, so she ended up in a pen by herself.  The woman knew this wasn't a good situation & wanted to find a home that was a better fit.  Normally we wouldn't have taken her, because she is healthy & very marketable, although we would have helped to find her a home.  But since she was so young when she was weaned, & hasn't been around donkeys since, she needs to learn to be a donkey.  We'll give her some time to learn donkey manners & then look for her a Forever Home of her own.  

 

SHILOH: 1998?

We bought Shiloh, sight unseen from an ad in the paper for an $ 85 donkey in March 2004. He is another one that has been traumatized & has shut down. The man we bought him from, got him at an auction as a package deal with a mule. He wanted the mule, but not the donkey, so advertised Shiloh in the paper. Shiloh has had his throat torn out, probably from an aggressive horse or donkey. He’s also been kicked in the mouth, & has teeth that are embedded in his gums, & scarring on his muzzle. He wants nothing to do with any type of restraint. He’s very gentle & his only defense is to escape. He’s never kicked or been aggressive in any way.  Shiloh went to his new family in March of 2008.

 

BELLE: 1997  

Belle was given to us in 2006 because her family could no longer take care of the habronema infestation on her face & legs.  She came in with bloody wounds on her face where she had rubbed because of the intense itching.  We started treatment immediately & she steadily improved throughout the fly season.  In 2007 she had no further problems, so we started looking for a home that would appreciate how well mannered & gentle she is.  Shiloh had chosen her as his special friend, so they would have to go together.  In March of 2008 a couple that had never had donkeys were interested in adopting, & decided that Belle & Shiloh were perfect.  They settled in immediately, & have 3 acres of pasture to graze & a family that thinks they are special. 

 

 

 

Punkin - 2001? 

Punkin came in with her mother, Lucy in 2003. Punkin was still nursing & had a heavy load of worms. We found a good home for them with a BLM gelding that had been by himself for a few years. A few months later we took Lucy back because she needed surgery. By this time Punkin had grown up & decided she liked her new boyfriend better than being a "momma's girl" anyway, so I'm not sure she ever missed Lucy. Besides her boyfriend, she also shares a large field with a couple of young cattle that were saved from being veal. They all get along very well, except feeding time gets a little wild sometimes.

Dixie Doodle, SusyQ, Falena and Rocket Man (Rocky)

We were notified about 4 donkeys on a ranch down by Sasabe that were going to be taken to auction to get rid of them.  They had been captured up in the mountains when the 2 babies were very small & brought down to a guest ranch for the tourists to "play" with.  In fact SusyQ was so young they brought her down laying across a saddle, because she couldn't keep up.  Putting tourists & cute fuzzy donkey babies with their moms together makes for some spoiled donkeys.  The ranch didn't mind that, but when they started spending a lot of time on the porches eating the wooden chairs, they wore out their welcome. 

They were all very tame & easy to work with, although SuzyQ was rather excitable & liked to rear & buck, not always paying attention to where she was at or if anyone was in the line of fire. 

Rocky was gelded & went to a new home locally.  His mom Falena & the other two girls went to The Wild Burro and Donkey Foundation of Central Texas Inc in 2005 & as of 2008, are still there.   

BENNIE & NINA:  

In 2006 a woman called needing a home for 2 donkeys.  She had recently been annexed into Gilbert & had too many equines on her property for the new zoning.  These were young donkeys 4 to 5 years old, she had bought to get them out of being used as roping donkeys.  Although they were both healthy, at sometime in her life, Nina's nostril had been ripped open & not treated.  She also has very poor quality rear feet, either from birth or poor hoof care.  Although we usually don't take healthy donkeys, we thought Nina's nose defect probably would make her worthless to a lot of people, & she might end up back as a roping donkey or worse.  The woman wanted them to stay together, which meant healthy Bennie was part of the package deal. 

We brought them home, started working on her feet & figured they would be here for a long time.  Nina was rather shy, but Bennie never saw a stranger & was an immediate hit, when tours came out to visit the donkeys. 

I got a call from a woman wanting a couple of donkeys to add to her family.   After talking to her on the phone, this sounded like a home that might work for Bennie & Nina.  She made arrangements to come out for a visit.  When she & her husband drove up, & got out of the car, Bennie & Nina left the hay bunk, & came over to greet them.  That cinched the deal, the people went home & started preparing a place for these two.  By the time we delivered them, a mini mule named Lucy had moved in & not long afterwards Rosie another donkey added to the herd.  They have 17 acres to roam on, & a wonderful lifetime home.   

Jacko

I got a call from a woman in Tucson wanting a companion for a donkey.  He had been with a couple of horses, but was now by himself.  They came out to see if we had any adoptable donkeys that would fit into their family.  After talking to them for awhile, I thought they might be interested in finding Jack a new home, rather than adding another animal to their busy schedule. 

I knew of a woman that needed a new friend for her donkey.  She had 2 donkeys & 2 horses, but a mountain lion had killed her jenny a few weeks earlier.  She was absolutely devastated & so was Tio.  She was looking for another jenny, but was willing to try a boy. 

His name was Jack, while he was here we called him JackD for donkey, because we already had a JackM for mule. 

Tio was so excited the day we delivered him & they have become the best of friends.  This is a wonderful lifetime home, with people that love their animals & will do whatever necessary to make sure they receive any care needed. 

His name is now officially Jacko.   Thanks to Laura for the picture!

SUGAR:  

In April 2007 I got a call from a woman whose neighbor had this little girl for sale.  He had bought her at auction to use as a roping donkey.  One of his neighbor's bought a roping machine, so he wanted to get rid of her. She was only about a year old & cute as she could be.  This woman didn't have the money to buy her, & was afraid she would stay in the roping community.   We drove down to Elfrida southeast of us & bought her sight unseen.  I'm glad he never roped her, because she is the nosiest, most curious, donkey we've ever had.  She helps us do everything.  If she sees us outside, she'll usually come to see what we are doing.  She also has no fear.  We came home one day & she had a large patch of hair missing from her butt.  She seems to think Max, the horse is a big brother & doesn't realize he doesn't like donkeys to get close to him. 

In January 2008, Sugar went to a wonderful home, with Jacque, who had only had horses as friends for a few years.  As I understand it, she has moved in & pretty much showed Jacque how it's going to be.  Typical jenny behavior, even a young one. 

MOLLY:  

We got a panic call one day about this little mule, which incidentally is just as cute as her picture.  The woman got her at auction for $55.00.  At the weaning age of 5 months she was loaded on a trailer in South Dakota with a bunch of other little mules & hauled to Arizona to auction.  By the age of 6 months she had been thru 2 auctions, when this woman bought her.  The woman wanted something to protect her mini horses. 

A few day later the new owner noticed liquid & feces dripping from her belly.  Molly had 3 fistulas in her belly that now were infected.  She had probably jumped over something sharp & punctured her belly.  The vet wanted to put her down, but the owner refused.  The surgery didn't go without problems, at one time they had over 5 gallons of intestines that really needed to be in her abdominal cavity, rather than in a bucket.  She spent 15 days on the ground, except when the people would raise her up with a rigging they attached to the back of their pickup.  (Thanks to Anita for this picture) Once she was healthy she had a lot of energy & the woman's fences weren't as effective for a yearling mule, as they were for mini horses.  She got in with the woman's expensive little stallion & she decided that Molly had to go before someone got hurt.  After that faux'pau, Molly had to live in a stock trailer for a few days until the woman called us & we agreed to take her.  She is a pocket mule, everything is interesting & whatever people are doing is REALLY interesting.  She finally wormed her way into the inner circle of horses & mules.  They kept running her off, but she kept at it until they gave up, & let her hang around with them. 

We took her to the Equine Clinic in Gilbert for evaluation to make sure everything was OK, & where it belonged before trying to find her a new home.  She passed inspection, & what scar tissue she has, is back by her hind legs, & wouldn't interfere with a saddle or harness.  She certainly doesn't seem to have anything wrong with her. 

In late in 2007, I put out the word we were looking for her a home, & had lots of interest in her.  It's not often a young mule with this much personality is available.   I chose a wonderful home down by Tubac on a 160 acre farm with lots of animals, people & interesting things going on, to keep her little mind busy.  She came out of the trailer, when we delivered her like she owned the place & never looked back.  She is being worked with every day, & taken for walks by many different people. She is going to have a wonderful life, after such a terrible start.