Wayne and Joan Schuetz of Washington have the honor of being asked to participate in the 2008 McDonalds Thanksgiving Day Parade in Chicago on Thanksgiving. They are members of Mid-State Mule and Donkey Association and a representative from that association asked them if they would like to participate. This is the first time for the couple to be in the Chicago parade.

Wayne had a special buggy made this past summer for the parades in Daviess County. It is a miniature Doctor’s buggy and was built in Daviess County by Graber Manufacturing. It is built to scale and made for miniature animals. The harness was also made in Daviess County by Knepp’s Collar Shop. The couple will dress in costumes from that era.

The Schuetzes raised dairy goats for about 17 years when they decided they were ready for a change. Miniature donkeys caught their eye because they are easier to take care of and not as much work as goats. And because they are so cute. You can’t talk to Wayne or Joan without hearing the love in their voices for the animals.

Wayne said, “Each one has a personality. You can’t help but get attached to them.”

The back of their house is a wall of windows overlooking the fields where the donkeys wander. The babies are in the front pen with the older ones in the back. Joan can look out the window and identify almost every one of them. That’s pretty good when you take into account they have 30 donkeys in all. And Joan names each one.

Annie is named Little Orphan Annie because her mom, Pocahontas, rejected her. She was bottle fed every four hours for several weeks. The Schuetzes made trips to Odon to buy dairy goat milk to keep her alive. Joan says Annie has done pretty well to have survived without a mother. Wayne went down to get Annie one night while Joan was having April Debs Homemakers club at her house. Annie decided to visit Joan and walked into the family room to greet the club. The ladies were quite impressed.

Joan had to come up with another name when Pocahontas had another baby after Annie. And Pocahontas did better the second time with baby Blossom. There is also Wynonna who had Ashley and Naomi.

“Each one has a distinctive feature which helps identify them. Even the brays are different,” Wayne said.

If a donkey can’t be identified by the bray or their look, Wayne and Joan have another way to identify them. Each one has an electronic implant under the skin of the ear. Wayne does this at about six months of age. The implant has a code number matched to the name of the donkey along with the date of birth, parentage and color. Each donkey is named and registered with the National Registry which includes a small picture of the animal.

Donkeys aren’t usually considered a wonderful, lovable pet but, according to Wayne, they actually are. They don’t ever really bite and the only time they get aggressive is over their food. Wayne says the main reason for raising and selling the animals is for pets. A lot of people purchase them for showing or to pull a buggy or cart. Some people have them in with other livestock, mainly sheep, goats and cattle, as guard animals. Donkeys make short work out of clearing a pasture of unwanted predators.

But donkeys are also cautious. They have better peripheral vision than horses and can sense things around them. At last year’s city Christmas parade, Wayne was trying to get the donkeys and cart across the railroad tracks at 11th Street. The donkeys wouldn’t budge. Joan finally had to get out of the car and drive the cart across the tracks while Wayne pulled them across. He said he’s already checked it out this year and they aren’t afraid of the tracks. They went across just fine.

Most donkeys like attention. Wayne can tell by the way they act if they want to be petted. He said one or two might not but for the most part all of them love being petted. Their ears tell the story.

“Don’t walk behind them if their ears are laid back. They are unhappy about something,” Wayne said.

The donkeys know Wayne and his voice. As soon as he yells “hey girls,” they slowly come walking in the barn single file. As he feeds them some of them will talk to him if they don’t think they are getting their fair share of food. One in particular, Georgia, sings when she wants fed. It’s a combination of whining and singing but Wayne he likes to hear it. Georgia was purchased two years ago at the Calgary Stampede in Alberta and has been a favorite ever since.

The Schuetzes have traveled all over the U.S. to shows and to purchase donkeys. Doug and Sam were purchased in Iowa. Wayne had mentioned to someone he was looking for a sorrel which is a donkey that is a dark red color. He went to look at it and found out there were two. A pretty well matched pair, both were the same size and color so he bought both. Doug and Sam will be pulling the buggy in both the Chicago parade and the Washington Christmas parade on Dec. 5.

The 2008 McDonald’s Thanksgiving Parade marks the 75th anniversary of holiday tradition in the city of Chicago. It will be broadcast from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. (CST) Thanksgiving. Viewers can tune into WGN or Channel 239 on satellite. This is one of only two parades to be broadcast on Thanksgiving Day, the other being the Macy’s Parade.

The Chicago parade boasts gigantic balloons, beautiful floats, 24 high school bands along with several different equestrian units.

Wayne and Joan welcome visitors to the miniature donkey farm they own outside Washington. Questions can be sent to them via e-mail at continentalfarm@yahoo.com.