Just ...wow! LOL
Posted on 12/24/2005 2:51:10 AM PST by leadpenny
SHE DIDN'T TALK like the donkey in "Shrek," nor did she arrive bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. But the family of Sidekick, the celebrity miniature donkey who spent more than six months on the lam, was glad to have her back nonetheless.
"She's a great Christmas present," said Glenna Tompkins, a MediCorp Health System analyst who lives in Louisa County.
In May, Tompkins transferred the 20-month-old jenny, or female donkey, from Orange to her parents' 10-acre farm near the Spotsylvania Court House battlefield. Within hours, Sidekick had escaped through a hole where a tree had fallen on the fence.
For more than half a year, she eluded trackers and may even have fallen in with some of the deer roaming the battlefield, her owner said.
Tompkins is no stranger to escaped pets. She also has two horses, five dogs, three cats, a chinchilla and 18 chickens.
But she said Sidekick's perseverance was new to her.
"The horses, you get them to come back with treats and feed," she said. But for donkeys, who eat mainly grass and hay, it can be more of a challenge, particularly if they aren't used to human contact.
Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park Ranger Chuck Lochart saw the burro several times wearing her signature red halter, but he was not able to lure Sidekick into a spring-loaded pen set up last October.
In November, an Air Force colonel with experience in animal communication tried unsuccessfully to approach the wily animal by making smooching noises.
Finally, the searchers came up with an idea to improve their trap. They lowered a concealed trip wire that had been attached to a feed bucket in the pen.
That did the trick, closing the gate on the fugitive equine when she visited the pen sometime Thursday.
Sidekick's return put to rest concerns that she might have been pregnant, Tompkins said. That doesn't appear to be the case, she said.
But she does need some grooming, and Tompkins also plans to have her wormed.
Still releasing clouds of dust when petted Friday, the burro seemed to be settling into her Louisa home, an approximately 60-square-foot, red-gated pen.
She wore a new blue halter and feasted on sweet oats while her barnmates--quarter horses named Texas and Chance, and a cat named Callie--eyed the legendary escapee with curiosity from the surrounding corral.
Tompkins said she expects Sidekick will be completely adjusted within a month.
"She's a little skittish toward people, but she'll get over that after a while," Tompkins said. " We've just got to spend time with her."
To reach BEN SELLERS:540/374-5423 Email: bsellers@freelancestar.com
Ping
Now we know who you've been cavorting with! LOL!!
Surely, (I know, don't call you Shirley) you don't mean with that AF Col? ;)
LOL!!! Spotsy lives in that area -- I'm thinking she must have been out with the donkey or something instead of posting in the Canteen. We've been missing her a lot! LOL
I wish someone would post the pic of Glenna and Sidekick.
Pics are above my pay grade.
Just ...wow! LOL
Thanks. I hope that blue harness doesn't mean the burro is a democrat.
Nice story, thanks.
Yahoo -- didn't think of THAT!! What's funny to me about that picture is that it appears that she is really mooning over the donkey. I'm sure she's quite a normal person, but the picture is just funny.
LOL = you're welcome. :o)
It's too early in the morning for this. Ok, this image isn't right for any time of the day.
My nephew had a little donkey named Red River that he kept in our pasture for a time. If you turned your back to him he would bite you in the butt. He was a mean little cuss.
Spotsy....is this one of the critters that keep coming to your house?
Wow. Six months!
Where's she been?
On the lamb.
Thank you Star for the ping! The farm in this story is only a couple of miles down the road from me. I'm surprised the burrow didn't visit my house -- every other creature does. LOL
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