Susan Peirce laughs when she thinks of Juble, a very special donkey. “He is ridiculous,”

she says with a chuckle as she recalls his unique personality. Juble first came to Red

Bucket with his friend, Blossom. Both were stray donkeys that were picked up by Animal

Control and scheduled for euthanasia when a Good Samaritan took them in. She

contacted Red Bucket and we placed them on our waiting list until we had room. It is our

process at Red Bucket to help as many animals as we possibly can…and then one more.

We were told that the two were inseparable, but it turned out that Juble was a bit more in

love with Blossom and was bossing her around.

Mary Rajknecht came to Red Bucket looking for a donkey to adopt. She fell in love with

Juble about a year ago and we knew it was the right home for him. Mary has a small

ranch in Pine Valley, and she wanted a companion for her Missouri Fox Trotter, Cosmo.

He is 16 and she has had him for 13 years. They had tried a horse companion, but that

had not worked out perfectly. “I had read an article in Equus Magazine about adopting

donkeys for horses as companions. That had not occurred to me before, which is funny

since I love donkeys and already had pictures of donkeys all over my house.”

“Once I heard about Red Bucket, I visited and fell head over heels for Juble.” Juble first

caught her eye due to his coloring since he’s a spotted donkey. She was also looking for a

larger donkey because her horse is big and he wants to play. “Juble was perfect. He was

not timid and shy; he came over to visit with us right away. When you gave him a good

scratch, he showed he liked it and wanted more! He still loves to have his ears petted and

to be scratched all over.”

Juble can be a bit of a curmudgeon, but he is a lot of fun! He definitely has his own

opinion about doing things. For example, getting his feet done was hard initially. It took

about a month of patience and persistence, but now he loves the farrier and gets his

‘manicures’ regularly. Also, in Pine Valley, they have to be ready to evacuate in case of

fires. “Juble wasn’t crazy about trailering at first, but we put the trailer and food where he

could reach it and we worked with him for a couple of weeks, and he is now hopping into

and out of that trailer like he owns it!” His winter blanket has polka dots “cause a special

donkey needed something special. He stood like a statue through the whole blanketing

process. He is really easy!!”

Mary rides Cosmo every other day and takes him for walks a few miles the alternate

days. Now her husband walks Cosmo and she walks Juble. “It was like walking a

bulldozer at first; he was so strong! He would just beeline to whatever had caught his

attention.” He has better ground manners now, and they have worked on “whoa” and

backing up. Horse and donkey now walk comfortably through the wilderness near the

ranch and “they get to snack on bushes and seem really, really happy!”

Mary loves seeing Cosmo and Juble so happy. “Cosmo loves his new companion. They

were friends almost immediately. They are truly so great together. I really would like

people to read this and consider adopting donkeys. They are absolutely wonderful!”

If you’re wondering, Red Bucket moved Blossom in with Bilek, a geriatric horse who

needed a companion. He absolutely fell in love with Blossom and now the two are

completely inseparable. It has been a triple win for Juble, Blossom and Bilek.