Name: Vinnie

    Type: Standard Donkey

    Color: Brown

    Sex: Gelding

    Birthday: 1/1/2016

Our Vinnie escaped from a horrible situation in our local North Carolina area. Vinnie and his herd mates had been left to fend for themselves by an irresponsible owner. Soon, the grass was eaten in the pastures and Vinnie and friends decided to escape in search of food. This wasn’t difficult because the fencing was in disrepair. However, having two jacks (Vinnie and Buddy Jackson) wandering the neighborhood and upsetting all of their equines didn’t set well with the neighbors who called Vinnie’s owner and asked him to retrieve Vinnie and his herd. Unfortunately, the owner decided to rope Buddy Jackson and proceed to drag him down an asphalt road. You can imagine the damage that was done to por Buddy Jackson. The neighbors were, of course, outraged, and called the authorities. They also took in all of the donkeys (Vinnie, Buddy Jackson, Ruby, Moonshine, and Gracie) and called Red Bell Run for help. The entire herd came to Red Bell Run, Vinnie included, so that they could be properly cared for and Buddy Jackson could have his wounds addressed.

After a month or so of being fed an appropriate diet, having his overgrown hooves addressed, getting gelded and being convinced that Red Bell Run was a good spot to land in, Vinnie was moved up to the Longears Lodge for some donkey companionship. Now, in nearly 100% of cases, donkeys do best with their own kind. We always recommend that if you’re getting a donkey, it’s best to get two. They can live with a horse companion, but they are much happier with another donkey…except for Vinnie. Vinnie did not like the other donkeys; in fact, Vinnie dug a hole halfway to China next to the fence, pinned his ears and bared his teeth if any of the other curious donkeys got close and in general expressed his great displeasure with his new accommodations. We try to do the very best thing for each equine in our care and clearly Vinnie wasn’t a happy donkey. We discovered that at one time Vinnie had been a companion to a blind horse, so we moved Vinnie to Villa Roja with an older gelding named Smokey who has some vision issues. Vinnie took to Smokey immediately and the two have become fast friends. Smokey’s vision continues to deteriorate, but Vinnie is there to help. Vinnie is happy, Smokey is happy and we’re happy for both of them!