Hoorah's Story

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Hoorah is one of four mini donkeys at Oscar’s Place. We took him in back in March 2023. He came from a home where he lived with a horse, but their owner could no longer take care of them. So she rehomed her horse first, and then two weeks later, she rehomed Hoorah to us. 

 

But during those two weeks of separation from his horse companion, Hoorah was barely eating. He spent his days pacing back-and-forth because he had lost his friend and didn’t know what was happening. 

 

When Hoorah arrived here, that behavior continued. He was very nervous, kept pacing, and wasn’t eating. We have a standard quarantine procedure when we take in a new donkey, so that the rest of the herd stays healthy. We decided to integrate Hoorah into the herd quicker than we normally would, because we needed to try to find him a companion. If we waited, things would likely take a turn for the worse. 

 

Much to our joy, during the evening of Hoorah’s first day in a bigger pasture, I (Ron) was doing my evening rounds and saw Thor hanging out with Hoorah in the corner of the pasture. Amazingly, Hoorah was eating! 

 

Our team watched the pair over the next 24 hours. Everywhere Hoorah went, Thor followed. So we put Hoorah and Thor back in quarantine in our owner surrender village, and they finished it together. Hoorah began to adjust to his new life at our ranch—with his new buddy Thor by his side. His pacing immediately stopped and his eating immediately resumed. All it took was a friend. 

 

Today, Hoorah has fully integrated into our boy pasture. He is super sweet and gentle. He loves getting cuddles from our staff and volunteers. He’s a senior donkey and a permanent resident of Oscar’s Place. Hoorah will live out his final chapter at Oscar’s Place, where our team can keep a close eye on his health.