Medium-sized dog with white and brown markings interacting with a light brown donkey wearing a pink halter in an outdoor farm setting under diffused overcast light, surrounded by wooden fences and grassy fields. 3:24
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A farm dog becomes big sister to a baby donkey

Colton the dog watched from a corner as Willow the donkey was born at Little Buckets Farm Sanctuary, and she couldn't get over this little one. more

Susan Klingenberg, who owns the sanctuary, calls it complete fascination. She thinks Colton was asking who this was and wanting to go give her a kiss. It fits the dog. With pretty much everyone Susan has brought to the farm, Colton is the welcomer.

Olive, Willow's mother, wasn't about to let a dog stroll up to her baby and say hi. For the first few days she stayed a little protective, so Colton had to wait.

As the days went by, Olive started letting Willow be curious, and the foal went up to Colton. "Be nice, move slow," Susan says. Colton sits very still with a little baby loving on her, and Susan teases her for looking so serious.

A dog in a red collar sits facing forward while another animal nuzzles the side of her face. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Once Olive relaxes, Willow walks up to Colton, who sits still and lets her.

Olive eased off from there. At some point, Susan says, the mother worked out that if Susan was watching Willow, she could take a break. Each day Olive would be a little farther away, and Willow grew more curious and a bit more independent, with a special interest in the way Colton wags her tail.

Susan thinks Colton somehow knows when the animals need a little special loving. She has a calming way about her, but with Willow it goes further. "More like an older sibling," Susan says, "where you're looking out for your little sister."

Medium-sized dog with white and brown markings interacting with a light brown donkey wearing a pink halter in an outdoor farm setting under diffused overcast light, surrounded by wooden fences and grassy fields. The headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Colton the dog watched from a corner as Willow the donkey was born at Little Buckets Farm Sanctuary, and she couldn't get over this little one.

Every morning Susan puts a pink halter on Willow and leads her from the barn to her field. It is not far, and Colton is always there. When Susan gets Colton to walk forward, Willow usually walks right along with her, a fluffy foal keeping pace with her big sister.

Susan says a lot of people never connect that farm animals have the same kinds of personalities as dogs and cats, and that they want to love and play too. She admits she has gotten a lot less done since Willow arrived, because all she wants to do is hang out with the two of them.

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