Meet Dougie, the 3-year-old miniature donkey who thinks hes a dog.
The pet lives with his owners Cal and Tom Stockbridge in Pickering, Yorkshire, England, where he has the run of the house and goes for walks.
The animal loves company, is often found in writer Toms office while he works—and bizarrely, also loves watching tennis.
Cal, 53, who runs a theatre company, said, “He acts more like a dog than a donkey, he loves attention from people. Dougie was raised with a lot of human contact so when we got him aged 8 months old we wanted to maintain that. All our animals have the run of the house and we wouldnt have wanted Dougie to be any different.”
Cal first got Dougie as a present for her 50th birthday, having visited a friend who had a donkey.
When he was 8 months old she brought him home to their small holding which is surrounded by 250 acres of Wildlife Trust land.
Cal added, “We are like pretend farmers. We have lots of animals, but its not a working farm. Dougie was put into the wildflower meadow at the bottom of our garden with a little shed for shelter. We have French windows that open out into the garden and before long Dougie found his way into the house.”
Dougie quickly made friends with the other animals, including Griff, Cals 7-year-old Irish wolfhound, who is the same size as the donkey.
Cal said, “We take Dougie for walks with Griff and he gets very cross if he sees us going and we dont take him with us. Griff gets a bit jealous of Dougie because he doesnt like to share me.”
The little donkey does get up to mischief, often holding ladys skirts or cardigans firmly in his mouth.
Cal said, “He doesnt chew or rip their clothes; he will just stand very close to them and not let go. It doesnt faze my friends; they are used to me having so many animals around. Dougie never steals food, though, not like the pigs who sometimes come in the house. If there is an apple or carrot on the side he wont be interested, hes just looking for his daily dose of affection—usually a scratch and a tickle.”
Cal has some advice for anyone who may be considering getting a miniature donkey of their own. She said, “They make incredible pets; they all have their own personalities and theyre very affectionate but donkeys need shelter, grazing and company so you need to do your research—especially as they can live well into their forties.”
來(lái)認(rèn)識(shí)一下3歲的迷你驢道基,但它以為自己是只狗。
這頭寵物小毛驢和它的主人卡爾·斯托布里奇和湯姆·斯托布里奇夫婦住在英國(guó)約克郡的皮克林鎮(zhèn),在那兒它可以在屋里隨意跑動(dòng),也可以外出散步。
它喜歡人類的陪伴,經(jīng)常在作家湯姆工作時(shí)出現(xiàn)在他的辦公室里。它還有一個(gè)古怪的愛好——看別人打網(wǎng)球。
53歲的卡爾經(jīng)營(yíng)著一家劇院公司。她說(shuō):“道基表現(xiàn)得更像一只狗而不是驢,它喜歡得到別人的關(guān)注。它在與人類關(guān)系緊密的環(huán)境中長(zhǎng)大,8個(gè)月大時(shí)來(lái)到我們這兒,我們想保留它親近人類的性格。我們養(yǎng)的動(dòng)物都可以在屋里跑來(lái)跑去,道基也不例外?!?/p>
卡爾在拜訪之前養(yǎng)道基的朋友之后,那個(gè)朋友把這頭驢作為卡爾50歲的生日禮物送給了她。
道基8個(gè)月大的時(shí)候,卡爾把它帶回家,一處周圍有250英畝的野生動(dòng)物信托用地的小房產(chǎn)。
卡爾補(bǔ)充道:“我們就像在扮演農(nóng)場(chǎng)主的身份。我們養(yǎng)了很多動(dòng)物,但這并不是真正的農(nóng)場(chǎng)。我們把道基養(yǎng)在花園盡頭的野花地里,有一個(gè)小棚屋為它遮風(fēng)擋雨。我們的落地窗對(duì)著花園敞開,沒(méi)多久道基就發(fā)現(xiàn)它可以從那兒進(jìn)入房子了?!?/p>
道基很快就和其他動(dòng)物交上了朋友,比如卡爾7歲大的愛爾蘭獵狼犬格里夫,它的體型和道基一樣大。
卡爾說(shuō):“我們帶道基和格里夫一起散步,如果道基發(fā)現(xiàn)我們出去散步卻不帶它,就會(huì)很生氣。格里夫有點(diǎn)吃道基的醋,因?yàn)樗幌牒蛣e的動(dòng)物分享我?!?/p>
這頭小驢子也會(huì)調(diào)皮搗蛋,常把女士的裙子或羊毛衫緊緊銜在口中。
卡爾說(shuō):“它不會(huì)把她們的衣服嚼爛或撕碎,只是緊貼著她們站著,就不松口。這嚇不到我的朋友們,她們已經(jīng)習(xí)慣我身邊圍繞著各種動(dòng)物了。但道基從來(lái)不偷食物,不會(huì)像豬一樣有時(shí)會(huì)跑到屋子里找食物。即便旁邊擺著蘋果或胡蘿卜它也不感興趣,它只是為了得到每天例行的愛撫——通常就是給它撓癢癢?!?/p>
卡爾給想養(yǎng)迷你驢的人提出了一些建議。她說(shuō):“它們是很棒的寵物,有著獨(dú)立的個(gè)性,很有感情,但要注意驢子需要住所、吃草和陪伴,所以養(yǎng)之前你得做好準(zhǔn)備——尤其要注意它們能活到四十好幾歲。”