Meet the Donkeys

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  • Charlie and George came to MMFS in August of 2022 from our friends at Rising Star Horse Rescue in CT. These two special donkeys came from the BLM where they once lived in the wild. They were rounded up and placed with owners who threw them out to pasture for a year, and then they proceeded to send them to an auction/slaughter. They were rescued and made their way to Rising Star to start a new life – a new life of domestication after being taken from the wild and then kind of dumped again. Our barn is quiet and we have the time to help them learn that humans will not hurt them. Charlie is about nine years old and George is around three. They lack trust in humans, but each day gets a little easier.

  • Josie and Nicholas just joined MMFS from a life of being at a campgroup/petting zoo facility.  Both donkeys are over 30 years old, and they needed a Sanctuary setting to live out their days.  Nicholas does not have any teeth that are still functioning in his mouth, so he and Josie enjoy mash prepared meals that MMFS staff makes for them throughout the day.  Since they were around people most of their life they do seem to like the attention of our volunteers.

  • Billy came to us in November 2025 from Mustang Valley Sanctuary. He was originally rescued from a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) auction. Throughout many western and southwestern U.S. states the BLM regularly rounds up wild donkeys and horses living on public lands and auctions many of them off to anyone willing to pay. This often leads to them ending up in kill pens destined for slaughter, but Billy was one of the lucky ones who was rescued and adopted out. Sadly his adopter became ill and passed away, which is how Billy and the woman’s miniature horse and mustang all luckily landed at Mustang Valley Sanctuary. However, with time and observation the sanctuary realized that Billy really needed the company of other donkeys. There’s a lot of networking that goes on between Sanctuaries, and thanks to our friends at Rising Star Rescue and Mustang Valley, we were able to help Billy find his new home here with George and Charlie!