Farmer John Nuttall was hopeful that his donkey mare would bond with her second foal.
The mama donkey had rejected her first foal, and, sadly, he passed away without his mother’s care. John assumed there was something medically wrong with the baby that caused her to hurt him, but when baby Kai was born, they learned that she simply wasn’t mother material. When John witnessed her attacking Kai, he knew they had to separate him from his mother – or risk losing him.
John runs a donkey ride business on the Lincolnshire coast of England. It’s a family business that goes back a full century, and his children will take it over when he retires. Each summer, they lead groups of tourists on donkey rides on the beaches near their farm, so it’s important that their breeding program continues to keep their business going.
With 70 adult donkeys to contend with, John knew Kai wouldn’t survive if he left him alone in the pasture. Instead, he took the baby under his wing, feeding him his mother’s milk. Kai still wasn’t flourishing, though, so John called his partner Grazina Pervenis for help.
Grazina is a dog trainer, so she treated Kai just like one of her other pets. For the first few weeks, she had to feed him donkey infant formula through a tube to nurse him back to full health. After that, she raised him by hand, even fitting him with a doggy diaper so he could live right inside their house!
Kai lived with them in their homes for 6 weeks. During that time, he bonded with his new family, both human and canine. It didn’t take long before Kai started acting just like one of his dog brothers and sisters, following Grazina around, coming to her whistle, and playing with the dogs.
“He even started playing with a ball and everything, and now, I can go for a walk down the road, and he’ll follow me like a dog,” said John. “Now, if I get in my van to go out, he’ll see it going and chase after the van. He’s certainly a character.”
Once Kai was big enough to defend himself from the other donkeys, he was released into the paddock with the others. He’s overcome his health struggles and is getting bigger and stronger every day!
While he’ll never be quite as robust as a donkey that was raised by their mother, John thinks he’ll be a good asset to the farm in time.
“He’s alive – that’s the main thing,” John said. “My main concern was to keep him alive. I didn’t want to lose another one!” said the relieved farmer.
This family has spent 100 years caring for animals like Kai, and we’re so glad they had the skills and devotion to keep this little guy alive. We hope he never loses his dog-like antics!
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