Three donkeys in a California park, including one that served as a reference for Eddie Murphy’s character in Shrek, received a $10,000 government grant.
Mayor Greer Stone and the Palo Alto City Council have committed to contributing a matching grant to help pay for the care of the donkeys at Bol Park.
The donkeys are living out their golden years in a one-acre pasture, much to the delight of visitors, and even have a celebrity among their ranks.
Pericles, or ‘Perry’, was studied by the animators of the first Shrek film as they attempted to examine how donkeys move.
But he’s just days away from turning 30, and as he and his friends get older, his care becomes increasingly expensive.
Three donkeys from Palo Alto’s Bol Park, including 29-year-old Perry, who served as a reference for Eddie Murphy’s character in Shrek, have received a $10,000 grant
Perry was selected as a model for Donkey in 2001, but the animators only donated $75 to the pasture, which is overseen by volunteers.
Donkeys can live up to thirty years old while in captivity. Last year, the park also acquired 15-year-old April, further increasing costs.
Their care is supported entirely by donations from the community and the assistance of volunteer donkey handlers.
Basic care typically costs more than $25,000 a year, not including medical expenses, which can bring the total bill to more than $40,000.
Despite the centuries-long history of donkeys in the park, the grant contribution faced pushback from officials such as Councilman Greg Tanaka, who cited a looming budget shortfall.
Fortunately, the donation comes from the City Council’s contingency fund, which has $77,000 left to spend before July 1. Community members are also encouraged to donate by June 23 to qualify for a challenge grant.
The animals in the park date back to the 1930s. Their pasture was once part of a farm owned by the Bol family, who fled Europe amid Hitler’s rise to power. Patriarch Cornelius Bol was the inventor of the mercury vapor lamp.
Bol Park officially opened to the public in April 1974, and the donkeys were sold or given away in the following years until only one remained, named Mickey.
Josina Bol took care of Mickey after her husband died, and once she became ill, several neighbors stepped in to help. They continued to care for Mickey after Josina’s death in 1996.
The $10,000 donation comes from the City Council’s contingency fund, which has $77,000 left to spend before July 1.
Perry, whose full name is Pericles, came to the pasture in 1997 as a companion to another donkey. He and his friends, April and Buddy, participate in community events and take weekly walks in the park.
The grant comes as Perry and his friends continue to age, causing the cost of their care to skyrocket.
Perry joined Mickey in the pasture a year later. He had been donated by a Woodside woman who had kept him as a companion for her horses. Perry and Mickey were inseparable until Mickey’s death in 1998.
Perry grieved once again when his other friend, Niner, passed away in 2016. Niner had arrived shortly before Mickey’s death and Perry was always by his side, even accompanying him during trips to the hospital.
Perry was eventually joined by 24-year-old April and Buddy, forming the iconic trio as they are known today.
In 2001, Perry was selected as the model for the character Eddie Murphy in the first Shrek film.
A group of animators from Palo-Alto-based Pacific Data Images, which was later acquired by DreamWorks, visited the park to take photographs of the then five-year-old donkey.
His moves were later incorporated into Donkey’s design.
However, the company donated only $75 to the grass and Perry was not mentioned in the credits.
Since then, he and his friends have received a lot of love from the community, participating in Halloween parades and delighting passersby during their weekly walks in the park.
They are overseen by the Barron Park Donkey Project, a branch of the Palo Alto Humane Society.