Meet the Farmette Friends
"Hi! I'm Hark. My pregnant momma, now called Hope, was owned by a killbuyer, but I was tucked safely away inside her."
Hark is a female, standard-size donkey who is full of life and energy.
"I'm Hope. When I arrived at the Farmette, unbeknownst to everyone, I was pregnant with Hark and so sick with pneumonia that I almost died. I had trouble breathing and laid down a lot because my feet were overgrown and very sore. My heart rate was dangerously high for weeks which worried the vet and everyone! Finally, I gave birth to baby Hark and my lungs got better. I'm happy and healthy now!"
Hope is a pensive, slightly shy, standard-size donkey.
"I'm Manny. I was by far the oldest barn resident at The Farmette. In my younger years, I was used for Civil War reenactments, but my owners didn't take good care of me. I was finally seized by an animal protection agency and eventually moved here. I've had lots of horse friends but the sweet donkeys became my favorite company. As far as I'm concerned, they were all MY donkeys and I liked to hang with them. I had a bad knee and horrible arthritis but I loved the snow, my warm barn and shredded carrots or mushy apple slices that I could 'gum down'! I was very well loved and the Prince of The Farmette."
Manny was a Walker gelding. He had almost no teeth, but was very sweet and was a fabulous "donkey-sitter". Sadly, he was having major difficulty with mobility issues and reached the point where he couldn't get up on his own. After he collapsed for a second time and couldn't get up on his own, we made the very difficult decision to euthanize him because we didn't want him to hurt himself or to suffer. He died peacefully with his head in our arms and his mouth full of grass that he was eating while he was down. We miss him terribly. He was one of a kind.
"My name is Maranatha. I was owned by a killbuyer in PA (I was once known as tag #153!) and I was waiting to be shipped for slaughter when miraculously I was loaded up and taken out of there. I was very sick with Strangles and had to spend a couple of months in quarantine before I could come home! I sure liked my cozy stall and my feed buckets in the quarantine barn! Once better, I gained weight and quickly learned what it means to be loved. I like everybody, except for the dentist whose work I honestly don't appreciate very much! I admit that I do like being able to chew my hay well though!"
Maranatha is about 13 years old. She is a black and white paint and has a few endearing spots here and there. She lives on the "donkey side" and has a very bonded mini donkey buddy Shari. She took over where Manny left off as our "donkey-sitter".
"Hi, I'm Misty. See my trick?! Bet you can't do that! I'm a flexible mare! I was saved from a PA killbuyer's lot (I was once known as tag #397, headed for slaughter!). Once home, I broke out of (jumped a high fence!) my supposed-to-be-30-day quarantine pen when a loud, scary siren went by because I wanted to be with my new horse friends. I developed Strangles right after that but thankfully no one else caught it and I got better fast!"
Misty is a teenage mare believed to have some Appaloosa blood mixed with who-knows-what else.
"My name is Danny. I'm one of the smallest permanent Farmette barn residents (not counting the barn cats!). I'm about five years old and I'm not going to get any taller. I used to live with goats and chickens and sometimes I ate dog food and corn but here I eat hay and a little grain. I've learned how to be a donkey. Hope and Hark let me hang out with them a lot. And I love playing 'donkey wars' with my buddy Kai."
Danny is a miniature donkey gelding who is truly as cuddly and sweet as he appears.
"Mosie is my name and I came from West Virginia. I was owned by a rescue that had some financial trouble and eventually I made my way to PA. At some point, I had tried to run through a fence and, as a result, I tore out half of my chest muscle so I can't be ridden anymore. I'm a little shy but I want to be friends, especially if you have carrots!"
Mosie is a sweet, teenage Appaloosa mare. She was best friends with Manzana (left) who sadly and unexpectedly died in 2016. Manzana had once been boarded in a state prison!
"We are mother and daughter, Hosanna and Hallelujah (Halle, for short). Several years ago we were discarded and run through an auction. Representatives from another rescue organization were there and they didn't want us to end up in a horrible place so they bought us both. We are home at The Farmette. We're always together but we have learned how to share space with the other mother/daughter pair, Hope and Hark, and the rest of the donkeys and horses. We love to be scratched. We used to help Manny clean up his plate and, as a result, we got really fat, so we've been on a diet this past year and are getting healthy again. Exercise isn't our thing! We're only in our teenage years so there's a lot of life left in us. Donkeys often live to 30-40, you know. We love treats and naps in the sun -- and Halle (the lighter-colored donkey chewing on the rope!) loves to run away with anything she can fit in her mouth so if you come for a visit, hold onto your hat!"
Hosanna and Halle are very special miniature donkeys and they are wise, comical and very gentle!
"My name is Hagar (Aggie for short) and my little friend is Hilkiah -- we call him Kai. Our stories are very sad. We were once in Bastrop, Louisiana where our mommas were shipped to slaughter when we were just babies. We were still nursing and we both had such terrible pneumonia that they didn't bother to put us on the truck with our mommas because they thought we were going to die before arriving at the slaughterhouse. A man came to pick up other donkeys that were being rescued and he happened to see us huddled in a paddock together. He put us on his trailer, too, even though he wasn't sure we would make it. It's a long story and it was a hard trip for us but we eventually ended up at The Farmette. We arrived skinny, exhausted and afraid but we've gotten used to things here now. We like our new donkey friends but still stick pretty close together. Kai really missed his momma at first and I tried my best to help him. He has wonderful new friends in Danny and Davey and they like to play together a lot. We both love chin scratches and everyone says we are shaggy!"
Aggie and Kai are best friends. They shared a horrible beginning together but now share a safe, happy life.