When she first met Earl the donkey, Michelle Singleton says Earl was depressed.
Not only had his owner recently died, Michelle says that Earl had spent his whole life in a backyard by himself, which is detrimental for herd animals.
While Michelle waited for other rescue donkeys to join him at her Home for Hooves Farm Sanctuary, they set him up on playdates with other animals.
Michelle wondered if the donkey would like to play with something and gave him a large yellow yoga ball. Earl and his yoga ball were inseparable. He played with the ball day and night, countless hours over two weeks, until one morning Michelle discovered the donkey heartbroken.
Michelle shared the donkey’s dilemma on social media and eventually received donations of almost 40 balls from everywhere.
And even better, Michelle hoped, was the arrival of a trio of rescue donkeys. Michelle recently noticed a couple of the other donkeys playing with one of his balls, it’s possible Earl could convince them all to form a ball team together.