Ella-Mae
Adopted!
New Name: Ellie Mae
Age: Adult
Sex: Female
Breed: Mixed Breed
Weight:
Current Location: Gunter, TX
Adoption Date: March 8, 2022
Adopted by: Christina Zielinski
Latest Update:
Sometimes the stars align and something is just meant to be……
Age: Adult
Sex: Female
Breed: Mixed Breed
Weight:
Current Location: Gunter, TX
Adoption Date: March 8, 2022
Adopted by: Christina Zielinski
Latest Update:
Sometimes the stars align and something is just meant to be……
Rene posted that Ella Mae and Levi were available for adoption. Someone saw it and sent their pictures to Christina Zielinski. They knew she was worried sick about her donkey, Sierra. Sierra was best friends with their horse, Squire who was 22 and had died suddenly. Sierra was very depressed and grieving the loss of her friend. Christina was worried sick about her. Poor Sierra was just standing by the chicken coup feeling lost. When Christina saw the Lone Star post she knew it was meant to be and reached out to us right away..
I talked with Christina and liked her immediately. With the vet check and video out of the way, Christina and her family came out to meet Ella Mae and Levi Saturday and it was an instant connection for everyone.. mom, dad, kids and donkeys.
The Zielinski family lives in Gunter,TX. Close enough to use the farrier that initially came out here, which will help Ella Mae. Plus the transport driver was free this weekend and was able to come get them the same day. Everything just fell in place even to the point of no rain giving them a chance to settle in before bad weather. Ella Mae will be called Ellie Mae and Levi will be Elvis Levi but will still be called Levi. Along with Sierra they will have cows and chickens to make friends with, not to mention three great kids (9,10 & 15)to give them lots of love and attention.
I’ll miss momma and her little toot Levi but like I said in the beginning, some things are just meant to be.
About Ella-Mae: Millie saw this mama and her little 2 week old baby in a kill pen scheduled to be killed and reached out to us and asked if we could help. We said yes, get them now That * Is * All.
These two were dumped at the Bowie kill pen with a slaughter date of 10/5 unless saved. The momma is a standard Jenny and the little baby is a 2 week old Jack. The mom is skittish but allows you to get close and baby sticks right to her. We had to move quickly to get them out … it is very easy for a baby so young to get pneumonia and die in this type environment. Last night they were able to sleep on clean bedding with clean water. Mom was munching away on her hay while baby was nursing.. just priceless.
Welcome Ella-Mae and Levi to Dog Ranch Rescue!
UPDATE 3/1/2022
It’s time to find a home for mama Ella Mae and baby Levi.
I reached out to Millie to discuss what is best for them as I know nothing behaviorally or socially about donkeys. Ella Mae is Levi’s mama and he is castrated and old enough to be adopted but my question was do they need to stay together or would it be better for them both if they were separated. I know that us humans attach our heart and human feelings to animals and we don’t do that for dogs but I needed to clarify the same thoughts with donkeys.
Millie told me that they could be adopted separately but they would have to go to a home that has other donkeys. In addition to that we cannot and will not adopt Levi out and leave Ella Mae here all alone. If they do get adopted to separate families those are the requirements, they must have other donkeys and they would have to leave at the same time so neither of them would be left alone.
For me, the way I look at it, if there is no problems with leaving the two of them together then I would prefer they are adopted together. I will let Millie make that call with the applications that we receive, but I just think it would be much easier to find a home for them where they both get loaded up and taken to their forever life at the same time to the same place.
To apply for donkeys the process is the same as applying for a dog.
UPDATE 2/22/2022
It’s been awhile since I’ve done an update on Ella Mae and Levi so thought it was about time they got a little attention.
Levi is now gelded and about 5+ months old. He will let you put a halter on him and will stand tied while I work with Ella Mae ( this is very hard for him cause he likes all the attention). The farrier was out and was able to do his hooves with no problems. He was very impressed on how well Levi behaved (proud foster mom moment). Levi can be frisky at times but is still a sweetheart who loves nose kisses.
Ella Mae is between 7-8 years old. She has come a long way from the scared frightened donkey that didn’t want me to even look at her much less touch her. She now comes to me when I call her. She loves carrots, apples and of course Mrs Pastures cookies. She’ll stand nicely while I put her halter on, spray her coat and brush her. She absolutely loves for me to rub the sides of her face and under her muzzle and I can even give her kisses on that sweet nose. Ella Mae seems like an old soul to me she is so gentle I just love her…I like to whisper to her how sweet she is and how I wish I was younger. Things she still needs to work on are ….walking on a lead line-she’ll only take a few steps then stops and will lock in. It’s best to be close to where you want to tie her before you put the halter on. And doing a little better with the farrier. Mason Wright (donkey farrier whisperer) was able to do her hooves…she wasn’t real happy about it but did settle down. In all fairness both donkeys were done in about 35 minutes and I was pretty proud of how well they did.
Levi is still nursing but is eating hay and occasionally a little grain. Sometimes, when they’re out in the corral he looks almost as big as his mom. Ella Mae is a small standard donkey and he’ll be the same but I imagine he’ll be taller than her. I’m going to start the gradual process of weaning him from her by separating them for short periods of time each day.
UPDATE 10/26/2021
We will only be adopting these two together, Levi will nurse on his mama until he is 4-6 months old. Once his testicles drop he will be gelded which means neutered in case you don’t know. Millie said Ella Mae is skittish and she needs time to work on her socially so it will be several months before either of them are already. In the meantime we will just enjoy updates with how cute they are..
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