Albert was an escape artist. This miniature donkey snuck off his caregiver’s property in Northern California so many times that the local police decided they’d had enough of him.
If Albert ran wild one more time, they said, they’d shoot him.
Luckily for Albert, he dodged this fate when someone contacted Farm Sanctuary. We offered him a new home at our beautiful — and secure — Northern California Shelter.
Upon his arrival, Albert immediately proved he is good at more than breaking away… this sweet, gregarious fellow is also a world-class charmer!
Albert has two ways to woo approaching visitors. First is “the hover.” If he’s in the barn when a caregiver comes around, he slowly sidles over, edging closer and closer until the caregiver can’t resist petting him. Then, he simply stays there, stuck to his new friend like glue, even if the human has work to attend to or is otherwise distracted. Albert avoids direct eye contact — but, he’s not fooling anyone. Albert clearly adores his caregivers.
Albert’s second strategy is “the charge.” When he’s grazing in the pasture and sees someone coming, he runs toward her, fast as he can, braying all the while. Albert is a tiny donkey, and he has a high-pitched bray. This babble, paired with the funny face he makes as he sprints toward visitors, never fails to reduce the object of his desire to laughter.
Given his past capers, we were concerned that Albert would try to escape from the shelter, but apparently he loves his new home so much that he has put those days behind him. There’s no time to break out of your pasture when you’re busy charging full-speed into the hearts of everyone you meet.
