Donkey herd brings joy to Gilpin couple, community
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Lisa and Joe Wailand love spoiling what she calls their donkey babies.
Dixie, Skittles, Stormy, M&M and Sunny make up the Wailands’ spunky, all-female pet herd, which garners a lot of attention from people passing by the Lovers Leap Farm on Gilpin’s Lovers Leap Road.
“I have a couple that has been driving by for two years, looking at the donkeys,” said Lisa Wailand, 51, a Navy veteran originally from Wisconsin.
The Wailands, who do not have children, originally planned to buy just one donkey three years ago to protect their cows and goats from coyotes and other predators on their 65-acre farm.
“My husband said I could get one, but when I visited the six donkeys (listed in a Craigslist ad) at the Armstrong County home of an elderly couple that just could not take care of them anymore, I fell in love with all six,” Lisa Wailand said.
So the Wailands sold their cows to a Gilpin farmer and made room for the donkeys.
“I knew I could give them a better life,” Lisa Wailand said. “They didn’t have any pasture, were kept inside a barn, and they’re hooves were overgrown.”
Three of the original six donkeys were relocated to the home of a friend of Lisa Wailand’s after the Wailands’ 18th-century barn fell into disrepair and had to be dismantled. After the Wailands built a smaller, updated barn, they said they acquired a male to breed with Dixie and Skittles.
M&M, or Emmy, is the latest addition. Skittles gave birth to her about a month ago.
“I hold Emmy in my lap and she falls asleep. She even snores,” Lisa Wailand said. “You think they’re just a barnyard animal, but they are more than that. They truly become part of the family.”
Miniature donkeys are described by The National Miniature Donkey Association as “the most adorable, affectionate, soft and cuddly creature in the animal kingdom” and are known to possess traits and characteristics that include friendliness, trustworthiness, protection against predators, loyalty, hardiness and compatibility with other livestock.
“My donkeys keep the coyotes out of the pasture,” Wailand said.
Lisa Wailand said each of her donkeys has a distinct personality, with Sunny earning wild-child status, Dixie being the best behaved and Stormy the most lovable.
“They all love being brushed,” Lisa Wailand said. “They come up and want to be loved on. They are people animals.”
The donkeys share their rural retreat with five goats and have two shelters: a small barn and a three-sided wooden shelter customized with a large “Hee Haw” logo.
Farm-grown bamboo is a special treat for the herd, with fresh leaves, apples and carrots added to their regular diet of grass and hay. Another treat: The Wailands like to dress them in themed attire for holidays such as Christmas and the Fourth of July.
Lisa Wailand’s mom, Cindy Jackson, visiting from Indianapolis, said she had no idea how social donkeys can be.
“I was surprised. I think they’re misunderstood. They’re very loving and bring me so much joy,” Jackson said.
Lisa Wailand said spending time with her animals has made a difference in her life.
“For me, it’s relaxation and being stress-free. You can never have a bad day when visiting the animals,” Lisa Wailand said.