If you know Honky Tonk, you love him. And you don’t even need to know him well — one interaction is more than enough to seal the deal. Loving Honky Tonk (whom we often refer to simply as Tonk) is not a matter of subjective preference, but rather, obligatory. No one is exempt from his donkey charm; he has a unique ability to wedge his way into everyone’s heart.
Honky Tonk the magnificent!
Tonk soaking up attention from new friends during our recent Twilight Tour event. Photo by Andrew Lasken.
Honky Tonk posing with his friend and caregiver Jessica Due.
Honky Tonk in his temporary lodgings during the evacuation of our Southern California Shelter due to wildfire in the area over the summer.
Don’t worry…he and his friends got plenty of carrots!
Honky Tonk with Paul Harvey sponsor and FS supporter Meghan Lang.
Tonk coming up to see his caregiver and pal Daniel Singleton.
Tonk has plenty of love to go around! Here he is with Paolo steer. Photo by Andrew Lasken.
Tonk visits with his buddy Todd Lee.
Tonk even appeared in an LA Weekly video along with his good friend Moby! See it at laweekly.com.
Honky Tonk started life as a wild burro. Many moons ago, he was captured by the Bureau of Land Management and later adopted by a kind gentleman in Southern California, on whose property Honky Tonk and his best donkey pal Harley lived for several years. The boys were dearly loved, but their guardian found himself in a tough situation. Work-related travel increasingly kept him away from home. With no end in sight to his grueling travel schedule, Honky Tonk and Harley’s dad looked for a better living situation for them, and found a local rescue organization that agreed to take them both.
After spending several years at the rescue organization’s shelter enjoying the attention lavished upon them by guests and volunteers, Honky Tonk and Harley were then adopted out into a second private home. Their new guardian loved them as much as their original one had, and initially took great care of them. But as time passed, the new guardian acquired many additional rescued animals (predominantly horses, donkeys, and mules), and became financially overwhelmed. Individualized care for the animals declined as their guardian struggled to feed all of the animals.
Honky Tonk and Harley after a month at Farm Sanctuary. Tonk’s skin was covered in medication here, and he was still too thin.
When the boys came to Farm Sanctuary, they were both in need of some individualized tender loving care. Both received a complete veterinary check, and also had their teeth floated and hooves trimmed. One of Harley’s hooves was in particularly bad shape, gnarled like a club foot.
Tonk on the day he arrived at Farm Sanctuary.
But Honky Tonk needed more help to regain his health. He was covered in horse lice, which had caused him to incessantly
nip at himself and rub himself against any surface around. As a
result, his skin was rubbed raw all over his body. Reflective of
his overall health, the hair that remained was dull and listless. His head hung low; he appeared defeated.
Tonk shortly after his arrival.
Despite how bad he looked, Honky Tonk was far from being down for the count. This boy is a fighter! All he needed was lots of TLC and attention, which he received in spades. And boy, did he eat it up! In fact, he hasn’t stopped eating up all the attention (or the constantly available food). Initially, we bathed him weekly with a medicated shampoo, and he absolutely loved it. Bathing him soon became caregiver Brooke Belanger’s favorite activity, and with months of medicated baths and other treatments for his raw and damaged skin, we saw great improvement. Tonk’s skin recovered, and his hair now shines with health. (Though no longer medically necessary, Brooke still occasionally indulges Tonk and herself with a soothing donkey bath
– just for fun!)
Spending time with Honky Tonk has become a new favorite activity for everyone who works at the shelter; a quiet and gentle calm emanates from him. He has also been enjoying the companionship of his new donkey family (in addition to Harley, his little herd now also includes four other former BLM donkeys, Patsy, Dolly, Platero, and Dorado, who came to Farm Sanctuary in 2015), and he spends most of his time roaming with them.
Tonk with his herdmates.
To their credit, Patsy, Dolly, Platero, and Dorado were happy to welcome Honky Tonk and Harley into their group. Patsy and Dolly are especially enamored of Harley, but that’s a tale (or, tail) for another day. But as content as Tonk is with his donkey family, he will leave the group immediately if one of his humanimal friends enters his line of sight.
Tonk needs people as bees need pollen, and are we ever so happy to oblige him in his desire for attention! He
seems to have a sixth sense that alerts him the moment a human is close by. When a caregiver goes looking for the donkeys while they’re roaming on the back portion of the sanctuary grounds, Tonk often finds us first. He will sidle up to his human buddy with slow and steady strides, then follow us around the property with his entire face nuzzled into and under our armpits. Where we go, he goes. When it’s time to leave and tend to another of our rescued residents, he longingly watches us go, seeming to will us back to him. (Sometimes we obey; his gentleness compels us back to him for one last nuzzle, one last ear scratch until the next time.)
Tonk’s love for people is all-encompassing, and reaches far beyond his Farm Sanctuary family. He is a huge hit with guests, and every weekend, he readily greets new and returning visitors.
He soaks up the attention like a sponge, and revels in the love showered upon him.
Tonk loves attention from his human friends!
We believe that Tonk is a skilled mathematician, driven by his absolute and pure love for people. Given the choice between multiple groups of people, he will invariably choose the larger group. Should he meander over to one person he knows, or instead visit with a group of five people he may or may not already know? The solution to this equine equation is simple for him: Five people are greater than one, so he will choose the group of five every time. More people equals more opportunity for love
— and the more love, the better. Math is easy for this serene gentleman donkey, and loving him is easy for us and his many other human friends!
Please share Honky Tonk’s story. Together, we can increase awareness about just how amazing donkeys like him are. With your support, we can continue to promote compassionate vegan living through rescue, education, and advocacy efforts. A compassionate world begins with you!
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