Museum To Host Christmas With Donkeys

By VERNON ROBISON

The Progress

The newly opened Donkey History Museum in Mesquite will be holding its first big public event this weekend and all are invited. The museum’s Christmas with the Donkeys will take place on Saturday afternoon, Dec. 10 from 1-5 pm at the musem located at 355 W. Mesquite Blvd.

The event will offer fun for all ages. Santa will make a visit inside the museum for photos with the kids. There will also be hot chocolate and cookies for those in attendance. And, perhaps best of all, there will be real, live donkeys outside in front of the museum for attendees to interact with. Admission to the event, and to the museum, is free.

The Donkey History Museum first opened its doors last month on Nov. 5. The museum is the latest division of Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue, which claims to be the largest equine rescue operation in the world.

In an interview with The Progress, Donkey History Museum Curator Raymond Robbins explained that the Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue was started 22 years ago by Mark and Amy Meyers of southern California. Just previous to that time, the Meyers had purchased their first donkey, named Isabel. They fell in love with the animal and were fascinated by its intelligence and its gentle nature.

“There are a lot of misconceptions about donkeys,” said Robbins. “They are often the butt of a lot of jokes. But they are great, personable animals and they are not at all stupid.”

According to Robbins, the Meyers quickly learned about the history of donkeys in the west and also became aware of a problem that the growing populations of wild donkeys pose to public land management agencies.

Robbins explained that donkeys are not native to the Americas. Rather they were first introduced in this hemisphere by Spanish explorers, he said. They quickly became an important part of the history of European settlement here.

“At one time, donkeys were used a lot for many purposes throughout the western U.S.,” Robbins said. “They were used for packing things over distances. They were used in mining operations in Nevada and California. They were used in the military until well into the 20th century. And a lot more.”

But as the 20th century progressed donkeys began to be replaced by technology. One of the items on display in the museum is an actual 1956 Willy’s Jeep. Vehicles like this revolutionized transportation in the military during World War II. Then, after the war, these all-terrain vehicles became more ubiquitous across the country; used for doing things that donkeys used to do.

“That was kind of the final nail in the coffin for the use of donkeys,” Robbins said. “With a vehicle like this, people didn’t really have much use for donkeys anymore.”

Robbins said that the donkeys were often just let loose out on the range. The wild donkeys that can be seen in the deserts of southern Nevada and across the country are descendants of those donkeys, he added.

Set free, the donkey population actually flourished. Some areas have become overpopulated which has caused consternation among land managers. In high enough numbers, the animal can cause damage to the landscape. This is especially a concern in sensitive areas like Death Valley National Park in California or Big Bend National Park in Texas.

Managers of public lands are faced in the difficult position between needing to control the donkey population, and people like the Meyers who feel the donkey is worth saving.

Seeing this dilemma, the Meyers decided to do something about it. They established Peaceful Valley which has since built up several donkey rescue facilities around the country.

Wild donkeys are humanely captured from public lands in large numbers. Then they are taken to these rescue facilities. There, experts work with the donkeys to condition them to be more gentle and comfortable around people. Then the rescues seek loving property owners to adopt the donkeys.

One of those rescue facilities is located nearby in Scenic, Arizona. That facility has made something of a tradition of having an annual holiday open house event. It had become popular for people to go out to that facility, visit with Santa Claus and enjoy an afternoon with live donkeys.

But now that the Donkey History Museum is open close-by, the event this weekend is in lieu of that traditional event.
“This museum is a one-of-a-kind facility,” said Robbins. “It is well placed being close to one of our rescue facilities, and also right on I-15, a major transportation artery between Salt Lake, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. So we have seen people from all over the place stop in already.”

Robbins said that Saturday’s event will provide a great opportunity for local residents to get an idea of what the museum and the rescue are all about.

For more information about Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue go to donkeyrescue.org, or call the museum at 702-346-2538.