Elderly donkey who impressed Shrek character awarded $10,000 grant
Three donkeys in a California park, including one who served as a reference for Eddie Murphy‘s character in Shrek, have been awarded a $10,000 government grant.
Mayor Greer Stone and the Palo Alto City Council have pledged to contribute a matching grant to help pay for the care of the donkeys in Bol Park.
The burros are living out their golden years in a one-acre pasture, much to the delight of visitors, and even boast a celebrity among their ranks.
Pericles, or ‘Perry,’ was studied by animators from the first Shrek movie as they sought to examine how donkeys move.
But he is just days away from his 30th birthday, and as he and his pals grow older, their care progressively becomes more expensive.
Three donkeys in Palo Alto’s Bol Park – including 29-year-old Perry, who served as the reference for Eddie Murphy’s character in Shrek – have been awarded a $10,000 grant
Perry was selected as the model for Donkey in 2001, but the animators only donated $75 to the pasture, which is overseen by volunteers
Donkeys can live well into their thirties while in captivity. The park also acquired 15-year-old April last year, further raising costs.
Their care is entirely supported by donations from the community and the assistance of volunteer donkey handlers.
Basic care usually costs over $25,000 per year – not including medical expenses, which can push the total bill to over $40,000.
Despite the donkeys’ centuries-long history in the park, the grant contribution faced pushback from officials like Councilmember Greg Tanaka, who cited a looming budget deficit.
Luckily, the donation comes from the City Council’s contingency fund, which has $77,000 left to spend before July 1. Community members are also urged to donate before June 23 to qualify for a challenge grant.
Animals in the park dates 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 either sold or given away in the following years until only one, named Mickey, remained.
Josina Bol watched over Mickey after her husband passed away, and once she fell 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 for another donkey. He and his pals, April and Buddy, participate in community events and take weekly walks through the park
The grant comes as Perry and his pals continue to grow older, sending the cost of their care skyrocketing
Perry joined Mickey in the pasture a year later. He had been donated by a Woodside woman who had kept him as companion for her horses. Perry and Mickey were inseparable until Mickey’s death in 1998.
Perry grieved once more when his other pal, Niner, passed away in 2016. Niner had arrived shortly before Mickey’s death, and Perry was always at his side, even accompanying him during trips to the hospital.
Perry was eventually joined by April and 24-year-old Buddy, forming the iconic trio as they are known today.
In 2001, Perry was selected as the model for Eddie Murphy’s character in the first Shrek film.
A group of animators from Palo-Alto based Pacific Data Images, which was later acquired by DreamWorks, paid a visit to the park to take photos of the then-five-year-old burro.
His movements were later incorporated into Donkey’s design.
However, the company donated only $75 to the pasture, and there was no mention of Perry in the credits.
Since then, he and his buddies have received plenty of love from the community, participating in Halloween parades and delighting passersby during their weekly walks through the park.
They are overseen by the Barron Park Donkey Project, an offshoot of the Palo Alto Humane Society.
