Meet Viola - The Farmstead Donkey, I mean, Pony

This Summer we were able to fence the last of our 16 acres which opened up another 5 acres of pasture and forest for the animals. The problem is, the acreage is a little bit farther away from our barn than we would like. While we have a very secure perimeter fence and two very hard working livestock guardian dogs we still worry.

So we started talking...donkey or llama?

Ultimately we decided donkey :) The real kicker came when we figured out that a donkey could live with our flock AND act as a pony for our soon to be here gremlin :) I kind of love the idea of our daughter having a donkey instead of a pony, yes, she will be a bit odd, but then, all my favorite people are.

We were able to find her at an animal rescue in Quilcene, Washington...we think she's about two years old and, at this point, pretty wild. But that's okay, donkeys can live to be 40 years old! so we have lots of time to gentle her.

Here's a picture of me and Mr. Nick picking her up at the animal rescue, the vet sedated her in order to do one last hoof trimming and vaccinations and what do you know, she decided to sit down. We were cracking up, she looked just like Eeyore :) She makes me so happy.