Perry (short for Pericles) was a Jerusalem miniature donkey born in New York in 1994. He passed away on January 3rd, 2025 at 30, surrounded by friends and family at his sanctuary, Barron Park Donkeys. He may seem unassuming and lived a quiet life, but he easily could be considered the world’s most famous donkey.
This is because, in 1999, Perry was the animation model for the iconic character of Donkey in the Shrek franchise. Eddie Murphy famously voiced Donkey and Mike Myers as the titular Shrek. Released in 2001, the first movie made close to $500 million, won a number of awards, and spawned an empire of movies, spinoffs, toys, video games, and more. Perry was only paid $75 as a donation to his sanctuary. And he wasn’t included in the movie’s credits. Eddie Murphy, on the other hand, was paid $3 million to voice Donkey.
Born in 1994, Perry had a career as a therapy donkey to keep polo ponies calm. He apparently wasn’t very good at his job and was known to nip the ponies instead of calming them. He was then donated to Barron Park Donkeys in 1997 to enjoy an early retirement. Then in 1999, local animators were contracted by Dreamworks to create the character of Donkey. They chose a handsome donkey named Perry as their model, whose look and movements were studied to help design Donkey and give the character some natural characteristics to balance his comic persona.
Miniature donkeys can live up to 35 years old, so Perry was a senior at the time of his passing. He also suffered from arthritis and then an incurable condition known as laminitis.
While only getting widespread fame posthumously, Perry was beloved by his community and visitors throughout his many years.
If you’re able to support his sanctuary, you can donate at barronparkdonkeys.org.