An ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey named Goliath is missing from its longtime home at a veterinary hospital south of Calgary.
Judith Samson-French posted about Goliath’s disappearance on social media Tuesday.
The donkey is part of a five-donkey crew who have been in residence at the Banded Peak Veterinary Hospital, in Bragg Creek, Alberta, for a quarter century.
In an interview with CTV News, Samson-French said she woke up Tuesday to feed Goliath his usual breakfast of blueberry muffins and carrots, only to discover he was missing.
“It’s a huge mystery,” she said.
The other four Banded Peak donkeys acted as though nothing was amiss, Samson-French said.
Banded Peak Veterinary Hospital is looking for Goliath, a chocolate 28-year-old donkey, who has been missing since Tuesday night. (Photo: Facebook)
“They were very chill, as usual.”
A search of the Banded Peak property, which Samson-French described as a 24-acre fenced-in site, yielded no signs of Goliath – no fence breaks, no hair caught on the fence and no sign of an animal kill, although some fresh cougar poop was discovered.
A search of the adjacent property with some of the hospital’s resident dogs also yielded no signs of Goliath.
Samson-French tried to theorize about what might sort of criminals would have stolen an old donkey in the middle of the night, but that didn’t make too much sense either – particularly since Goliath has gotten a little chubby.
“It would have taken at least a couple guys to lift him onto a truck,” she said, “and why would anyone want to steal a 28-year-old donkey?”
She described the five-donkey team that has lived at Banded Peak as a “very herd-bound” crew who rarely fly solo.
About a decade ago, she said, a cougar did sneak onto the property and attacked a sheep, and the next morning, all the donkeys were “freaking out” about it.
“In the morning, you knew something had happened (overnight),” she said.
As for Goliath, Samson-French describes him as “utterly unflappable.”
“Nothing disturbs him,” she said. “He’s so respectful, and so friendly – and rotund.
“A little bit fat,” she said.
Samson-French has reached out to the RCMP about possible animal rustling.
Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Goliath is asked to contact the Banded Peak Veterinary Hospital at 403-949-3249.