Perry the miniature donkey, who served as the movement model for the character Donkey from the popular Shrek franchise, has died at 30 years old.
Jenny Kiratli, Perry’s handler, confirmed to PEOPLE that the animal — who lived in a community-run pasture in the Barron Park neighborhood of Palo Alto, Calif. — died on Thursday, Jan. 2. He was euthanized after a protracted struggle with a painful hoof disease known as laminitis.
“He was a part of the whole community, and everyone is mourning for him. So many people knew him,” Kiratli says of Perry’s legacy, before sharing that the donkey was brought to the pasture in 1997 at the age of 3. “The story that people tell is that he was meant to be a calming influence on polo horses — but he was feisty, so that didn’t work out.”
“He had a huge personality,” she continues. “So many children came by all the time to see [him]. They don’t know he’s the Shrek donkey. They just know he’s a little, fuzzy animal who they love to pet.”
However, Kiratli says, “I can attest that many of Donkey’s classic head tilts, eye rolls and bouncy trots were straight from Perry.”
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Kiratli says Perry lived in the pasture with two other donkeys — named April and Buddy — and his companions were given an opportunity to say goodbye after his death.
“Through the night, they were moving up, nosing in, understanding that he was gone. They grieved,” she told Palo Alto Online.
Kiratli recalled to the outlet how Perry came to be the movement model for the Donkey character, famously voiced by Eddie Murphy. She said one of Shrek‘s animators lived near Barron Park and knew about Perry through his wife. He then brought a team of DreamWorks animators to spend a few hours observing the animal.
Plans for a memorial for Perry will be announced soon, according to an Instagram post from the Barron Park Donkeys official account.
Kiratli tells PEOPLE that the area has been a de facto residence for donkeys since the 1950s.
“We have some parents and even grandparents who bring their kids to see the donkeys, and they remember them from when they were young. They are part of so many people’s lives,” she says.
Kiratli notes that the donkey pasture at Barron Park is not technically an official rescue — it is an entirely community-run initiative where volunteers pitch in to ensure the donkeys’ needs are met and that they get lots of love and care.
“There’s three dozen of us [volunteers],” she says, adding, “[The donkeys] get breakfast, lunch and dinner. They get a special walk on Sundays.”
Those looking to support the Barron Park donkeys’ care can make a donation here.
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