Donkey Shot at Request of Owner After Escaping Into Traffic

mendocino sheriff's cloth badgePress release from the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office:

On 04/11/2018 at about 1530 hours the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office received a call for service from the California Highway Patrol regarding a donkey running in traffic on Highway 101 near mile post marker 8.

Deputies and Animal Control officers responded to the location where they met with members of Caltrans. Also on scene was the owner of the animal.

On 03/26/2018 a motorist collided with horses on Highway 101 near this location which resulted in injuries to the driver.  Currently animal control officers are awaiting tranquilizing drugs from the Mendocino County Veterinarian however are not currently in possession of the necessary drugs to tranquilize large animals.

Upon arrival, officers surveyed the area and found the donkey was posing a significant danger to motorists on the highway.  Officers estimated the weight of the animal in excess of 500 pounds.  Officers were able to haze the animal off of the roadway onto a small hill located just above Highway 101.

The animal was extremely aggressive towards officers who were forced to continually haze the animal to keep him off of the roadway as the animal was above a blind turn on Highway 101.  The weather was deteriorating and driver visibility was rapidly declining.  Officers requested CHP to respond to the scene to complete traffic calming measures while they continued to haze the animal off the highway.

The animal made repeated attempts to enter back onto the highway and had to be hazed by officers at the scene to keep it out of traffic.  The owner of the animal was on scene and had fallen and received minor injuries while attempting to keep the animal off of the highway.

Officers spoke with the owner and learned the animal was approximately 40 years old and had never been halter broke, therefore the owner had never been able to lead the animal with a rope.  Deputies learned the animal had traveled approximately one mile down the highway from the farm where it had been kept.

Officers learned the animal was extremely aggressive and according to the owner it had injured and killed other animals on the farm.  Due to the aggressive nature of the animal, it was recently placed into a pen separating it from other animals on the farm.  After the animal had been moved to this new pen, the animal had broken out of the pen and traveled down the highway.

The owner of the animal did not have a firearm or other humane means to dispatch the animal.  The owner requested Animal Control Officers dispatch the animal stating he feared for the safety of motorists on the highway.

Due to the extreme danger to motorists the situation was posing, Animal Control Officers agreed to honor the request of the owner to put the animal down.  Animal control officers shot the animal, the initial shot injured the animal however did not kill it.  The animal traveled up the hill away from the highway as officers followed.  Officers were able to dispatch the animal once it moved further from the highway.  The owner was able to procure a small flatbed trailer and was assisted by officers in removing the animal from the property.

The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind all motorists, we live in a rural county with ranches and livestock.  Please drive safely and be aware of the possibility of livestock on the highway when driving through horse and cattle county.

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35 Comments
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Lone ranger
Guest
Lone ranger
5 years ago

If you’re a violent Jackass ,you will be shot by the police

CoveTroll
Guest
CoveTroll
5 years ago
Reply to  Lone ranger

Now if we could only do this to other “donkeys”.

Hobo-joe
Guest
Hobo-joe
5 years ago
Reply to  Lone ranger

Andy! Andy! can I put my bullet in my gun now Andy!?

albaguns
Guest
albaguns
5 years ago
Reply to  Lone ranger

if you have to put down a donkey you need to understand how to do this if you can put the light out first time call someone that can

Concerned Trinity County Resident
Guest
Concerned Trinity County Resident
5 years ago

Good for the owner who recognized that this animal could do severe harm to motorists on the highway; sometimes the right decision is a hard one but this seems to be the right decision and being a horse and donkey owner, I sympathize with this owner.

FORG
Guest
FORG
5 years ago

Lone Ranger: Best comment EVER!

Taurus Ballzhof
Guest
Taurus Ballzhof
5 years ago

So the officials frightened the animal and then assassinated the poor creature…

Remember this when YOU get old and cranky…

Veteran's Friend
Guest
Veteran's Friend
5 years ago

Read the story [edit] You missed every point.

Seamus
Guest
Seamus
5 years ago

I can just hear the old jackass muttering and swearing as he worked his way down to the road. Damn whippersnappers speeding by I’ll slow the sons of @#$%* down

Dan Fuller
Guest
Dan Fuller
5 years ago

Possibly the MCSO deputies need to spend a bit more time on the firing range, if they can’t kill it on the first shot only wound it!!!

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Dan Fuller

Nonsense.

Anon
Guest
Anon
5 years ago
Reply to  Dan Fuller

Seriously . Take aim

Buzz
Guest
Buzz
5 years ago
Reply to  Dan Fuller

How’s that? I can’t speak from personal experience but that’s a good size animal with strong bones and muscle- Not necessarily what LE is equipped for in terms of firearms.

2 shots seems par for the course on a outlaw donkey ranging the hills at dusk. This wasn’t a barnyard killing.

CoveTroll
Guest
CoveTroll
5 years ago
Reply to  Buzz

Should have used an assault rifle. I heard mythical things can happen with those guns

CoveTroll
Guest
CoveTroll
5 years ago

And kym deletes my sheep jokes 🙄. Jeezz

CoveTroll
Guest
CoveTroll
5 years ago
Reply to  CoveTroll

Clean sheep joke. Where do sheep get there wool cut?

CoveTroll
Guest
CoveTroll
5 years ago
Reply to  CoveTroll

The baaa baaa shop

Anon
Guest
Anon
5 years ago

Hazed? Or tazed .. Kym I’m confused

Ineverpost
Guest
Ineverpost
5 years ago
Reply to  Anon

How do you haze a donkey? Make it eat raw goldfish or run around campus nacked?

fuckwalterwhite.com
Guest
fuckwalterwhite.com
5 years ago
Reply to  Anon

(insert purple haze joke)

CoveTroll
Guest
CoveTroll
5 years ago

so A donkey, a rabbi , and a priest walk into a bar….?

CoveTroll
Guest
CoveTroll
5 years ago
Reply to  CoveTroll

The priest says “ can I get some holy water?” No we are not that type of bar, sorry. Rabbi says “ can I get something kosher”? Bartender says,sorry we are not that type of bar! Donkey pulls up n says “hee haw!” Bartender says…that’ll be 10 bucks, but you have to turn the TV to channel 17! ThNks kym

Mike
Guest
Mike
5 years ago

It’s not the donkeys fault the way it’s brain is wired, it needed rehab or a safe space… or probation

CoveTroll
Guest
CoveTroll
5 years ago
Reply to  Mike

Agree. Or if the donkey had a “unicorn” it would have been spared…. a sad world we live in.

Freedom Club
Guest
Freedom Club
5 years ago
Reply to  Mike

It is not the donkey’s fault his owner couldn’t properly care for and look after this animal. Sad!

Maniac
Guest
Maniac
5 years ago

Dog food.

fuckwalterwhite.com
Guest
fuckwalterwhite.com
5 years ago

Dumb donkey.If he was in HumCo he would have been given probation.

Tanuki Smith
Guest
Tanuki Smith
5 years ago

The officers probably used an AR- 15. The reason they have large capacity magazines is because they are not very accurate, low quality bullet hoses. The 5.56 bullet is not meant to kill, it takes 2 soldiers to remove a wounded soldier from a battlefield, it was designed to produce victory by attrition. Wound but not kill.
My lever action 30-30 is dead accurate, 9 round tube magazine, made for dropping large game. I hope they didn’t use their service weapons, no bigger than a 45cal pistol, shooting and running after the critter blasting away.

CoveTroll
Guest
CoveTroll
5 years ago
Reply to  Tanuki Smith

44 mag lever action. Hey. It’s not a “assault “ gun though! My AR holds only 10 rounds after a complete breakdown of action. Gotta love California!

Boonvillain
Guest
Boonvillain
5 years ago
Reply to  Tanuki Smith

Sorry but AR15’s are plenty accurate, 3 to 5 inch groups at 100 yards are not out of the question. If you are willing to shell out some hard-earned cash, or some taxpayer’s hard-earned cash if you are law enforcement, a very accurate AR is easy to find. Animal control is probably rolling with 308’s too.

Mogtx
Guest
5 years ago

The whole event is just sad ,and wrong poor donkey

CoveTroll
Guest
CoveTroll
5 years ago
Reply to  Mogtx

Agreee. Im animals over humans

Breezy
Guest
Breezy
5 years ago

I was absolutely on the donkey’s side until it started acting like a jackass.

Ingrid
Guest
Ingrid
5 years ago

More disappointing humans. The owner should have never had the donkey in the first place if he didn’t know how to deal with animals that are obviously smarter than he. No haltering in 40 years. Pathetic. These animals are cantankerous by nature. This animal was obviously already bored in his “pen”, and was most likely in his mind making fun of the poor pathetic humans. Too bad there wasn’t someone on the “scene” to take him to a better place where he could’ve lived out his life in peace. Sad. As for the deputies telling people to watch out for animals on the road, if this is where you patrol shouldn’t you be equipped for animals on the road too? Why wait for CHP to arrive to redirect traffic. No orange cones? No carrots or apples?