"The donkeys had not been handled in over two years and were very shy and scared of humans."
The five donkeys had hundreds of acres to roam and plenty of grass to eat and water to drink. Though apparently abandoned by their owner, who removed the cattle they used to live with but left them behind, they were in donkey heaven.
But those acres off Cisco Road on Jacksonville's Westside were sold to a development company that needed to begin site preparation for a housing project.
The four adult donkeys and one 4-month-old baby needed a savior and ended up with two: EPIC Outreach, a Jacksonville humane education nonprofit that also runs an animal sanctuary, and the Virginia office of Texas-based Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue.
Read more at the Florida Times-Union