A REAL-life donkey that inspired Eddie Murphy's character in Shrek
has died aged 30.

Perry was also the official mascot for the city of Palo Alto, California

Born in New York in 1994, Perry rose to fame after animators modelled the Donkey character
in the original 2001 Shrek movie based on him.




Barron Park donkey Perry nibbles on grass during a Sept. 1 ceremony where the
Palo Alto Humane Society presented him and fellow donkey Jenny a $2,000 check
for veterinary services.



Perry the donkey has passed away aged 30





The Shrek donkey was inspired by Perry






Perry became a celebrity after Shrek's international success.



Perry, a beloved miniature donkey who has been a fixture of Bol Park for nearly three decades
and who famously served as the model for the Donkey character in “Shrek,” was euthanized
on Thursday after battling a painful hoof disease, Jenny Kiratli, the donkey’s handler,
told this publication. He was 30.

Perry has been at the park since 1997 and had spent much of his life in the company of
Miner Forty Niner, who died in 2016. Prior to his passing on Thursday night, he was one of
three donkeys at the Bol Park pasture, along with April and Buddy.

Kiratli said that Perry had been suffering from laminitis, a hoof disease that caused him excruciating pain.
He also had a disorder on his left hind leg, which made it painful for him to use that leg.
He often kept it lifted, which added extra weight to his right side.

“For a month, he had just been standing on three legs and keeping one lifted,” Kiratli said.

Kiratli, who is one of three dozen staff members who take care of the Bol Park donkeys,
said staff had tried numerous methods to ease his pain, including several months of acupuncture
that was followed by laser light therapy and warm massage. But it became apparent earlier this
week that his condition was not improving.


“He has clearly been in a lot of pain. He’s been on a lot of pain medicine. And we had handlers
there all day long, just watching and hoping something would improve,” Kiratli said.

Perry’s death was peaceful, she said. He was kept in constant company, and more than a dozen
handlers were with him when he passed, she said. After he was euthanized, he remained in the
pasture for several hours so that Jenny and Buddy could understand that their companion has passed.

“Through the night they were moving up, nosing in, understanding that he was gone. They grieved,” she said.

She described Perry as feisty and funny, extremely fond of Jenny and prone to playfully nipping
the occasional visitor in the butt. As recently as Thursday morning, he was playing with a stick,
picking it up and shaking it around. His playful personality and decades of entertaining visitors
has made him an endearing local personality, with Mayor Greer Stone and other dignitaries flocking
to Bol Park last June to celebrate Perry’s 30th birthday. The city also contributed $10,000
last year to Perry’s medical costs.





From left, Amara Fernandes, Macy Li and Vandana Ravi pose for a photo with
Barron Park donkey Perry at Bol Park in Palo Alto on May 28, 2019 after the
Palo Alto Humane Society’s Ambassadors for Compassion short story competition
awards ceremony. Fernandes and Li were received honorable mentions and
Ravi was the first-place winner for her story “Snapshot,”
which centered around the donkeys




Outside Palo Alto, he is best known for serving as an inspiration for Donkey, the character
voiced by Eddie Murphy in “Shrek.” Kiratli said one of the animators for Shrek lived near
Bol Park and his wife directed him to the donkey pasture because she knew he was working
on a donkey character for the new movie. He then brought a team of animators to Bol Park
to spend a few hours with Perry.

Karen Holman, a former Palo Alto mayor and long-time champion of the Bol Park donkeys,
recalled the various occasions in which she or other visitors would visit Perry. He had a way
of lifting people’s spirits and bringing them joy, she said.

“My particular experience with Perry is that he seemed to kind of understand when you were
having a bad day,” Holman said.

One time, he bolted from his pasture area and ran up to the gate to greet a man who was
standing there. Perry then buried his head in the chest of the man,
who Holman then realized was one of the handlers.

Holman also recalled Perry’s special relationship with Jenny, who was brought to the pasture
in 2016 and who died in 2020. Initially, the donkey handlers set up a pen at the pasture for
Jenny to see whether she and Perry would get along. It became immediately clear, she said,
that they would become great friends.

“Perry would go over to the pen for Jenny and he would look at her then he’d throw himself
down and roll. Then he would stop midroll and look at her to make sure she was watching.
He was big time flirting with her.”

Kiratli said in a post on NextDoor that the handlers are now planning a memorial service for Perry.
She called his passing “the end of an era; the loss of an icon.”

“In Perry’s last weeks, handlers spent many hours at the pasture with him, petting him,
cradling him, singing to him, and telling him that he was and always will be loved,” Kiratli said.
“We are all blessed for having known him and we will never, ever forget him.”





Palo Alto Mayor Greer Stone with Perry the Donkey and Mike,
a donkey handler, at Perry’s 30th birthday party in June 2024.

Man Lying on Carton near Walmart in the Christmas Cold
Is Ignored by Many, Young Boy Takes Pity








My life turned from a fairytale into a nightmare—all in one Christmas!
I had everything: money, success, a wife, loyal friends. Life seemed firmly on track,
but it was all a lie. I was on my way to a business meeting in Florida. Nicholas
stepped out of the car when a man in a black suit approached us.
He asked me to wait, leaving his phone in the car. Suddenly, his phone rang,
and the contact “My Love” appeared on the screen… with a photo of my wife
kissing my best friend. I picked up to confirm. “Darling, did you get rid of that
fool Cameron?” I heard my wife’s voice. I realized the whole trip was a setup.
I bolted out of the car, running in every direction, until men in black suits stopped me,
led by my so-called “best friend.” Him, smirking: “Sorry, Cam. This is goodbye.”
After that, I remember only a hit to the head and darkness. I woke up on the street
in rags, without money, without a phone, lying on cardboard, freezing in the cold.
People passed by, ignoring my pleas for help. I thought this was the end. And just
when I could barely feel my legs from the cold, a voice suddenly spoke above me.


Christmas is a sad season and meant only for the rich. The phrase came to Cameron
in an instant after the crowd’s murmur jolted him awake and named him for the
amorphous depression that had plagued him all evening.

It was snowing once again. The sky was still dark, and people were pouring in
and out of the Walmart store where he was lying on a carton, cuddled up in an
almost torn blanket and a black jacket, which he hadn’t changed in a long while.

Of all the millions of people in Florida, he was practically the only one who had
decided to sleep early on Christmas Eve to avoid the constant pain he was
feeling — partially due to betrayal he’d experienced and partially due to the
bruises that had covered almost every inch of his face.



Cameron was begging outside a Walmart store




Cameron was a wealthy pharmaceutical manufacturer in Texas, and he and his friend/business partner
Nicholas had been on their way to Florida for a business deal a few days ago. Little did Cameron
know it was all a dirty ruse to get him out of the way, and he’d be in a terrible state one day.

The evening all this happened had started like any other. Nicholas had come to Cameron’s
house to discuss the plan. They had agreed to meet someone on the outskirts of Florida
who would lead them to the city’s central plant, where the pharmaceuticals they were
interested in producing were manufactured.

As Cameron and Nicholas approached the plant’s outskirts, a man in his 30s approached
Nicholas and asked him to exit their car alone. Nicholas told Cameron to stay inside.

Nicholas and the strange man stood at a distance from the car, talking about something,
occasionally looking at Cameron and pointing to the building where they’d arrived.
They soon walked away, with Nicholas motioning to Cameron that he’d be back shortly.

What are they even discussing?
Why on earth would that man want to talk to Nicholas alone?
Cameron’s mind raced with the most bizarre suspicions at their sight.




Cameron froze in shock when he answered Nicholas’ phone



Suddenly, Nicholas’ phone, which he’d forgotten in the car, rang, and a shock ran through
Cameron. The wallpaper on the phone was a picture of Nicholas and Cameron’s wife Linda kissing,
and the contact that flashed across the screen was named “love.”

Is it possible this could be Linda? Should I pick up the call? Cameron was baffled.

Nevertheless, he answered it, and his suspicions were confirmed.
“Hi honey, did you reach safely? Did you manage to get rid of that idiot Cameron?”
the voice asked.

Cameron recognized it was Linda. It was her voice. And the deal that Nicholas had
organized wasn’t a pharmaceutical one. It was all a plan to get rid of him,
and Cameron realized it late.

He immediately got out of the car and began looking for a way out,
but two men dressed all in black stood in his way. Nicholas and the strange
man soon appeared from behind them,
Nicholas smirking.
“I’m sorry, Cameron. I didn’t have a choice. I’m hoping you’ll forgive me.”





Cameron was attacked and dumped on the outskirts of Florida by Nicholas



That was all Cameron remembered when he opened his eyes one day and found himself
in an underground tunnel in the outskirts of Florida. His wallet, phone, and money were
all gone, and one side of his face was covered in dried blood.

It had probably been days since he’d been left alone there in the tunnel. Perhaps he’d been
attacked on his head, hence, the blood, he reasoned.

He slowly left the area and climbed up, his head still throbbing from the pain, until he reached
a highway where all he encountered were large spreads of crops and an eerie dead silence.

Fortunately, he soon encountered a kind truck driver who was on his way to the city to sell
some of his produce and offered to give him a free ride to town as well as the old blanket
he’d been using to keep warm.

Cameron somehow reached the city that day, but he didn’t know what to do after that.
He was very weak and tired and barely made it to the nearest Walmart store.
His stomach was grumbling with hunger, and he felt light-headed as if he would collapse.




Cameron was weak and tired




At this point, Christmas was just a day away. Cameron had clenched his fists around his stomach,
attempting to quiet its growling and alleviate the pain he was feeling. He couldn’t remember
when he’d last eaten, but it had been several days because he was tired and exhausted.

Considering it was Christmas and a kind soul would help him out, Cameron opened his overcoat
and folded it several times to make a bowl-like container out of it. He wrapped himself with the
old blanket he had and sat there begging for food.

“Excuse me, ma’am. Can you please get me a loaf of bread?”
he asked a woman who’d just
come out of the Walmart store. She didn’t offer him anything; instead, she sneered at him for
being homeless and then walked away.

The second person that walked past Cameron gave him a judgmental look, and a few others
pulled their kids away, labeling Cameron as a “homeless freak,” advising them to stay away from him.

Poor Cameron’s eyes welled up. He lowered his head and tucked it in the circle of his hands,
and started crying. Suddenly, a squeaky voice of a child interrupted him.
“Please take this before my mommy finds out!” the child said





A little boy came to Cameron’s rescue




Cameron slowly lifted his head to see a boy of about 7 standing in front of him,
holding a box of chocolates.
“It’s Christmas, and everyone enjoys chocolate on Christmas. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do,”
he said with a smile.

Cameron couldn’t stop crying at the boy’s sight.
“Thank you very much, young man! You have no idea how much you’ve helped me!”
He sobbed as he accepted the box.

“I have to leave now. Otherwise, mommy will scold me. Bye!”
the boy said, preparing to leave, but as he turned around, he saw his mother standing behind him,
her hands on her waist, giving him a stern look.

“How many times have I told you, Tom, not to leave my sight?
There are so many people here, honey!
You could get lost!”

“But mom!” Tom cried.
“I was telling you something, but you weren’t listening to me!”





Tom offered chocolates to Cameron




“Didn’t I buy the chocolates for you, Tom?
What else do you want? Honey, you should know that I work very hard to support you.
I already bought you your favorite toy car and chocolates.”

“No, mom!” Tom said. “It’s not about me. When we were coming to the store,
I saw nobody was helping him, mom. So I bought the chocolates for him!”
Tom pointed at Cameron, who was holding the chocolate box in his hands
and looking intently at Tom and his mother, Jade.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know the boy troubled you for this. You can take it back,”
Cameron said, returning the box, but Jade refused and instead offered him help.

“You look sick. You have so many injuries on your face.
You can come with us, and we can get you checked,” she suggested.

“Thank you!” Cameron cried.
“That’d be really sweet of you! But…Can you please lend me your phone…I – I need to…”

Cameron had just started speaking when he felt disoriented,
and grabbed his head, crying in pain.
Looking at his condition, Jade drove him to the hospital,
where the doctors informed her that Cameron would need to stay for a while
due to a head injury that required treatment.

Cameron was unconscious, and Jade decided not to leave the man alone.
She and her son stayed with Cameron that night in the hospital.




Jade offered to help Cameron



When Cameron awoke the next morning, he told his entire story to Jade, and with her help,
he reported the incident to the police.

Jade visited him every day and looked after him while the cops were investigating his case.
When Cameron was finally released from the hospital, Jade took him home
and allowed him to stay with him as long as he wanted.

Cameron discovered that Jade was a single mother who had divorced her abusive husband.
As they spent more time together, Cameron felt himself growing closer to Jade,
and the two eventually fell in love. Cameron proposed to her, and the woman nodded a yes.
However, Cameron requested that they marry after he had reclaimed what was rightfully his.
Cameron took off to Texas to settle his case after Jade agreed.

However, when he arrived, he discovered that his company was on the verge of going bankrupt,
and Nicholas and Linda had run away after squandering all of the money.

Cameron had to stay in Texas until the case was settled.
It took a few months, but Linda and Nicholas were eventually found.
They had been hiding in a remote area of Texas.
Cameron filed for divorce from Linda as soon as the cops caught her.
Wrapping up everything took another two months,
but Cameron was glad his wife and his best friend paid for their sins.




Jade and Cameron lived happily ever after



Cameron flew back to Florida,
relieved that his ex-wife and friend had paid for their actions.
He and Jade got married at a church and welcomed a baby girl soon after.

Cameron began a new life with Tom, Jade, and their little baby girl Angela,6
forgetting the ridiculous past and moving on with his life.




What can we learn from this story?


One act of kindness can make a huge difference in someone’s life.
Cameron’s life was transformed from a miserable one to a happy one,
thanks to little Tom’s kindness of offering him chocolates on Christmas Eve.
Learn to be helpful and kind. Little Tom helped Cameron without expecting
anything in return, and that single act changed Cameron’s life forever.








This account is inspired by our reader’s story and written by a professional writer.
Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental.
All images are for illustration purposes only.