Do you remember the donkey Eeyore from Winnie-the-Pooh? The one who would be adorable, yet always so sad and so lonely? It appears that he has a real-life twin in British Columbia, Canada.
This lonesome donkey named Earl arrived to A Home For Hooves Farm Sanctuary when his longtime owner passed away. The poor animal was left on his own without a friend for 10 years. Sensing Earl’s heavy heart, the sanctuary’s staff offered him a large, inflatable ball to play with and they quickly became inseparable until one day, the donkey’s beloved ball popped…
More info: A Home For Hooves Farm Sanctuary
Earl was the saddest donkey in the world when his favorite ball popped, yet thanks to the public’s generosity, he’s full of happiness again
When Earl was brought to the sanctuary after losing his owner, the only person he knew, the donkey had a really tough transition because he wasn’t getting along with any of the other animals.
“He was living solo, and donkeys really need to be with the family, with their herd,” explained Michelle Singleton, the president and founder of the sanctuary.
“So he was by himself. Also, his hooves hadn’t been looked after, so it was almost like wearing shoes that were five times too big. So he wasn’t able to run or do anything like that because they were so overgrown and also the space that he was in as well was just a backyard, essentially. So he didn’t have space to run and graze and do all the things that donkeys should be doing.”
Therefore, Earl’s loneliness continued, especially because at the time, he was the only donkey there. The sanctuary’s staff couldn’t bear the pain seeing Earl so sad, and one day, they came up with an idea to give him a huge inflatable ball to play with.
“We actually had one of our foster moms over here kind of visiting with him and getting to meet him, and she had the idea of giving him a yoga ball because she’s used them for her horses,” Singleton said. “She gave him the ball, and he was like, ecstatic, because he had his new hooves, he was able to run around and rip around his pen. And then this ball was just like pure joy for him.”
The donkey would chase it, bite and kick it and was having so much fun! Finally, there was pure joy in the air.
“It was nice because before that, any time we were spending time with him, as soon as we walked away, he was crying,” Singleton explained. “Every single time, like I could be down here 15 times in the day and every time we walked away he would cry. So it just kind of broke your heart.”
Earl lost his owner and for 10 years, he’d lived in a field on his own, therefore playing with the ball made him feel less lonely
Yet one day, Earl played with his new toy so much that his beloved ball popped. The donkey was quite upset because he suddenly noticed that the ball wasn’t doing what it was supposed to be doing.
“You’re supposed to be able to chase it and kick it and do all those things, but it was just a deflated ball, so he couldn’t play with it. It was just really sad. He was just a really, really sad donkey,” Singleton recalled the memories.
The sanctuary decided to ask for help on their social media.
“Earl is heartbroken this evening! His beloved ball has deflated and he’s the saddest donkey you’ve ever seen without his ball,” the publication wrote at the time. “Earl plays with his ball several times a day and he has spent countless hours chasing after it. If you have a spare exercise ball you’d like to part with (and fill Earl’s heart with joy), please send us a DM or email to homeforhooves@gmail.com.”
It took only a few hours before dozens of strangers, some of them as far away as the Okanagan, began donating new balls and money to help ensure Earl would not be lonesome ever again.
“People were just coming and dropping off balls. It was to the point that I had to tell people to stop because I’m going to have an entire garage full from floor to ceiling of yoga balls,” Singleton shared.
Besides receiving so many new colorful toys to play with and so much care and love from the strangers, Earl also finally got to meet some new donkey friends, since three others joined him at the sanctuary.
“It was really quite amazing because ever since that day, since they’ve been here, he doesn’t cry when we leave his side anymore,” Singleton shared with joy. “He has his friends. They’re still sharing a fence line at the moment. But you know, they sleep at the gate together, they eat together. And he has friends and he’s not by himself.”
According to scientists, donkeys are highly social animals, therefore they suffer a lot if left alone. They are known for forming very deep bonds with other donkeys or other animals that usually last for a lifetime. Some studies have shown that separation from each other can actually cause such great stress that it can make donkeys seriously ill.
Therefore, I can only imagine how happy Earl was when, besides getting new toys to play with, he finally received true friends as well.
As Charlie Mackesy once said: “What do we do when our hearts hurt? We wrap them with friendship, shared tears, and time, till they wake hopeful and happy again.” I believe that the happiest days in Earl’s life have just started!
People on the internet couldn’t hold back their joy knowing that Earl finally got not only a new ball, but also new friends to play with
