Donkey, Who Served as the Model for Eddie Murphy’s Shrek Character, Dies at 30: 'He Was So Much More Than the Shrek Donkey'

Perry the miniature donkey, which served as a movement model for the Donkey character from the popular Shrek franchise, died at the age of 30.

Jenny Kiratli, Perry’s handler, confirmed to PEOPLE that the animal — which lived on a community-managed pasture in the Barron Park neighborhood of Palo Alto, California — died on Thursday, January 2. She was euthanized after a long battle with a painful hoof disease known as laminitis.

“He was part of the whole community and everyone mourns him. So many people knew him,” Kiratli says of Perry’s legacy, before saying the colt was brought to pasture in 1997 at the age of 3. “The story people tell is that he was supposed to have a calming effect on the polo horses. — but he was combative, so it didn’t work.”

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“He had a great personality,” she continues. “So many children kept coming to see [him]. They don’t know it’s him Shrek donkey. They just know he’s a small, shaggy animal they love to pet.”

However, Kiratli says, “I can confirm that many of Donkey’s classic head tilts, eye rolls and bounces are straight from Perry.”

Donkey in the scene of ‘Shrek 2’.

DreamWorks/Courtesy of Everett Collection

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Kiratli says Perry lived in a pasture with two other donkeys – named April and Buddy – and his companions were given a chance to say goodbye after his death.

“During the night they moved upstairs, snooped inside, realizing he was gone. They were grieving,” she told Palo Alto Online.

Kiratli recalled to the newspaper how Perry became the movement model for the Donkey character, voiced by Eddie Murphy. She said one of the ShrekThe animators lived near Barron Park and knew about Perry through his wife. He then brought in a team of DreamWorks animators to spend several hours observing the animal.

Plans for the Perry memorial will be announced soon, according to an Instagram post from the official Barron Park Donkeys account.

Kiratli tells PEOPLE that the area has been the de facto home of donkeys since the 1950s.

“We have some parents and even grandparents who bring their children to see the donkeys, so they remember them from their youth. They are a part of so many people’s lives,” she says.

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Perry (right) with his friends April and Buddy.

Barron Park Donkeys

Kiratli notes that Barron Park’s Donkey Pasture isn’t technically an official rescue — it’s a completely community-led initiative where volunteers step in to make sure the donkeys’ needs are met and they get lots of love and care.

“There are three dozen of us [volunteers]”, she says and adds, “[The donkeys] get breakfast, lunch and dinner. On Sundays they have a special walk.”

Those wishing to support the care of Barron Park’s donkeys can make a donation here.

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Source: HIS Education