Pippin!
Pippin is Ruby’s little boy, and is estimated to be 15 years old in 2020 (so maybe not so “wee”). He is spot on 36in tall, meaning he is on the high end of being a true mini donkey.
We got him on an online auction, site unseen (well, there were a few grainy pictures). It was SCARY to do that BUT we’re very glad he ended up here. He needs some TLC, specific hoof and dietary care so he can gain some significant weight - but not too quickly. He came to us with ribs and back bone being far too prominent… a little heartbreaking.
He might have had laminitis, but nothing like his mom. That being said, he also will get no funny business when it comes to food, as we don’t want that to come back or interfere with him trying to gain weight safely.
He joined our herd on September 12th 2020 - during some of the worst fire-season smoke the PNW has seen. At first, we thought he was just extremely timid and had a hard time eating. Turns out he just needed some space to be his own donkey, and now he’s got a lovely sassy attitude and vigor for life.
His name “Pippin” was honestly hard to get to - he went as “little dude” for 4 days as we wracked our brains for cute names.. from our favorite inspirational persons, famous persons in Mexican history, to “what goes with Ruby!?!?”, to favorite book characters… hence, the little hobbit name came about. So far, nicknames include: Pip, Pip-Pip, and Pipperoni. Sometimes, “donkaroons” as a pair.
I get a lot of questions about donkeys now… which I love researching! I’m maintaining those FAQs (and not so frequent) in two locations! Here, and in my Instagram Stories.