I am pretty much sure if Pumpkin could speak she would like to talk about her wish to see more and more people considering donkeys, thanks to their wonderful personality, as a pet with proper care, just like I did.

Talking about care, never believe articles saying that leaving a donkey on pasture is OK. It is NOT! It could be OK for a healthy animal without insulin resistance, and only for a limited time every day. Wild donkeys live in an anvironment where rich food is not common, so they are not used to it. Best feed for donkeys is grass hay with no more than 10% of sugar. Some hay may contain over 20% of it! Never feed alfa alfa because it is high in protein.

I've never had a donkey before Pumpkin. All I new about donkeys was that they have a long ears and they love carrots, apples and pears. I had to learn everything about them from Internet. Later on I stopped giving Pumpkin carrots, and I found for her on Internet the only one existing 100% sugar free treat Herballs by Hilton Herbs. She really loved Herballs without molasses and added sugars. I recommend this treat for every equine with insuline resistance.

Contrary to popular belief, donkeys are not stubborn, how it is showing the picture below, but extremely concerned for their own safety. They need more time than all other animals to evaluate what you would like them to do. That's also why injuries among donkeys are rare, compared to horses.

They are excellent pets: smart, gentle and extremely loyal to the owner. They say that a dog is the best friend of a man. Some dogs harm people but I have never heard about donkeys to do the same. That makes me think about who really is the best friend? What do You think??

Unlike a horse, a donkey recognizes only one master (owner) and it is a lifetime bond between two of them. If you try to break this bond, they suffer. For this reason, having a donkey is a great responsibility for the owner because they can live a very long time (in some cases up to 60 years; average lifespan of a domesticated donkey is about 40 years, for a wild one is about 27 years). That's why I didn't want another donkey after Pumpkin died because I was at that time over 60 years old.

Remember that just female donkey (jenny) is suitable for becoming a pet; male donkey (jack) is by nature sexually aggressive and best used for breeding purposes only.

I strongly recommend that you have your own house before even thinking about having a donkey because it could be hard to find a ranch that is willing to accept donkey. Don't ask me why? I simly don't know but it is like that. And even if you find a ranch that is willing to accept a donkey, you should have ready an answer for question what would you do with your donkey if the ranch should close down for business, like it happened to me.