Clare Staples was at an auction house in Texas, looking for horses who needed saving, when she came across a rare baby whose story immediately broke her heart.
“He was only a couple weeks old and was taken away from his mother,” Staples, founder and president of Skydog Ranch, said in a video for The Dodo.
The baby was about to be sold somewhere he would be raised and then hunted by trophy hunters, and Staples knew she couldn’t let that happen. Not only was the little guy young and innocent, but he was also an incredibly special animal: a zonkey, a cross between a zebra and a donkey.
The baby zonkey, later named Zebedee, had no idea how special he was. He sat alone in his pen with an auction sticker on his butt, scared and alone, waiting to see what his fate would be. Luckily, Staples was able to give him the chance he deserved.
“He touched my heart,” Staples said. “In the end, by a miracle, we ended up rescuing him.”
When little Zebedee arrived at the sanctuary, Staples placed him with Mabel, a recently rescued donkey, and Snowball, a one-eyed mini pony. The trio of misfits bonded immediately, and Zebedee became their baby. He even tried to nurse on Mabel, recognizing that she was his new mom. He was so young that he still had to be bottle-fed, and his new family did their best to help him grow and thrive the way he deserved.
One day, Zebedee was out in the field with his family when, suddenly, he got the zoomies for the very first time. The little guy was running circles around Mabel and Snowball, having the time of his life, and Staples’ heart soared seeing the life Skydog Ranch was able to give him.