domino

As heat waves were breaking records around the world, and the lethal wild horse and burro roundups relaunched in Wyoming and Nevada, we dedicated ourselves to saving some more beautiful souls. While making arrangements to haul a mustang, Hank, from Oklahoma, I went on the kill pen page to see who else we could help. I found Domino, an ungelded jack, with a heavily pregnant jenny, Dolly. We were led to believe that he was the father, which turned out not to be true (You can never believe what they tell you at kill pens.) One way or another, we got them both out as quickly as possible to avoid any further exposure to infections in kill pens that are often fatal for donkeys.

They were in the best of hands with our wonderful hauler, Steve. It was a long drive, but he traveled at night to keep his passengers cool and avoid the 4th of July traffic. Our previous ranch in Malibu was the perfect place for quarantine as there are no longer other equines in residence. There, we can give them veterinary attention during the Malibu summer, which is cooler thanks to the marine layer and ocean breezes. On a holiday that celebrates “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”, we restored these precious rights to these donkeys.

Having no idea what this strange place held in store for them, Domino and Dolly both froze when we opened the trailer door. Donkeys are thoughtful. They stop if they're unsure of the consequences of moving forward. It they don't feel safe, their massive self-protection instincts kick in. Sadly during roundups, this often leads to them being roped, dragged, kicked, slugged, and treated very harshly. They are ridiculed as stupid and stubborn, when in fact they're intelligent, sensitive, and cautious. We gave them all the time in the world to make up their minds to step off the trailer. Domino immediately won our hearts when he turned to Dolly to touch noses and reassure her. A kiss for good luck as he told her, “Let’s do this, Dolly.” A few days later, they were both rolling and resting in the soft, clean stable bedding of their pen.

Domino is a handsome, spotted donkey, who made his entrance into Malibu calmly. He arrived in fairly good shape. We had heard that he broke down several gates to get in with some minis at the kill pen. He was quite aggressive towards any males in there, so we took extra precautions with him. To keep Dolly safe, we added an extra stud gate in the the trailer. Now that she’s had her baby, we are having him gelded so he can’t get her pregnant. This is hardly unexpected behavior from an ungelded stud donkey, who had probably been used for breeding most of his life. He’s only doing what his natural instincts tell him to do. He’s not a bad donkey, he’s a horny donkey and we will help him settle down. Once gelded, he will be able to enjoy life without the raging hormones.

#skydogdomino

 Helping Mustangs & Burros

In addition to supporting our work by donating, becoming a patron on Patreon or sponsoring a Skydog, there are several important pieces of legislation to protect American equines currently moving through Congress. It only takes a few minutes to contact your Rep and Senators and urge them to support these bills:

Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act of 2023 (H.R. 3475 in the House / S.2307 in the Senate). This bill will shut down the slaughter pipeline that sends some 20,000 American horses and donkeys to savagely monstrous deaths in foreign slaughterhouses every year.

The Wild Horse & Burro Protection Act of 2023 (H. R. 3656) This bill will prohibit the use of helicopters or fixed-wing aircraft in the management of wild mustangs and burros on public lands, and require a report on humane alternatives to current management practices.

Ejiao Act of 2023 (H.R. 6021). To ​​ban the sale or transportation of ejiao, a gelatin made from boiling donkey skins, or products containing ejiao in interstate or foreign commerce, which brutally kills millions of donkeys primarily for beauty products and Chinese medicine.

You can Contact Members of Congress by calling the Capitol Switchboard (202) 224-3121‬, submitting contact forms on their individual websites, or sending one email to all three simultaneously at www.democracy.io

See our How to Help menu for other actions to ban zebra hunting at US canned hunt ranches, stop production of Premarin & other PMU drugs, and defund the Adoption Incentive Program.