Flopsy & Fufu
Flopsy, like so many federally-protected wild burros, was betrayed by the Bureau of Land Management and plunged into a life of abuse before being discarded in a killpen with her baby, FuFu, .
Marlene Dodge is the amazing hauler, who brought the very first horses to Skydog years ago - and many since. She has tremendous knowledge and experience. When I noticed that Flopsy’s mane was shaved, Marlene explained that it means she was used as a roping dummy. Cowboys abuse donkeys to practice their heading and heeling to rope calves. They cut their manes to prevent the rope from getting tangled. This probably also explains her broken ear. Anytime I think I have heard it all about the insane things cowboys do to torture animals, I learn something new and awful.
It was easy to understand why this gorgeous, gentle jenny was very head shy, BUT she loves having her soft neck scratched with love and kindness.
FuFu was an adorable baby, so fluffy, he looked like a llama. The kill pen was selling him as a girl, but you can’t believe anything they tell you. They started out in Malibu, where his favorite thing was going out to play on the slopes. When he was big enough, we moved him and is mother up to Oregon. They made some friends with other burros and donkeys - the Peanuts Gang, Bluebell, Bibi, and Bitsy.
In April of 2024, we released them all onto a large piece of land. This is the 1200 acres that Blue Zeus and his family share harmoniously with a very wild herd of burros. For Flopsy, we know this is a homecoming, the way her life was meant to be. For Fufu, we’ll see how he feels about going wild. With his mother and so many wild friends, including a youngster his age, we expect that it will come naturally to him. If he’d rather come in for more interactions with humans, the way things were in Malibu, then he shall have it. We’ll give them whatever makes them happy.
American Mustangs and Burros Need Your Help
In addition to supporting our work by donating, becoming a patron on Patreon, or sponsoring a Skydog, there are several important pieces of legislation to protect American equines currently moving through Congress. It only takes a few minutes to contact your Rep and two Senators to urge them to support these bills. You can Contact Members of Congress by calling the Capitol Switchboard (202) 224-3121, submitting contact forms on their individual websites, or sending one email to all three simultaneously at www.democracy.io
Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act of 2025 (H.R.1661 in the House and S.775 in the Senate). This bill would amend the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, commonly known as the “Farm Bill”. There are several important provisions for animals in that omnibus federal law, including the Cat and Dog Meat Trade Prohibition Act. It is currently illegal to slaughter, transport, possess, purchase, sell, or donate dogs and cats, or their parts, for human consumption. The SAFE Act would extend the ban to equines and shut down the slaughter pipeline that sends some 20,000 American horses and donkeys to savagely monstrous deaths in foreign slaughterhouses every year.
The Wild Horse & Burro Protection Act of 2023 (H. R. 4356) The bill would eliminate the use of helicopters in rounding up wild horses and burros, and require a study into alternative methods for humanely gathering the animals.
See our How to Help menu for other actions to ban zebra hunting at US canned hunt ranches and stop production of Premarin & other PMU drugs.
A bill from the previous 118th Congress that we hope will be introduced again this session:
Ejiao Act of 2023 (H.R. 6021). To ban the sale or transportation of ejiao, a gelatin made from boiling donkey skins, or products containing ejiao in interstate or foreign commerce, which brutally kills millions of donkeys primarily for beauty products and Chinese medicine.