Perry, the miniature donkey who served as the model for the character Donkey in Shrek, has passed away at the age of 30.
According to Palo Alto Online, Perry was euthanized at his home at Bol Park pasture on Thursday, January 2nd, after battling laminitis, a painful hoof disease. At the time of his passing, he was in the company of his longtime donkey friends, April and Buddy.
“Through the night they were moving up, nosing in, understanding that he was gone. They grieved,” Jenny Kiratli, Perry’s handler, told Palo Alto Online of April’s and Buddy’s reaction to their friend’s passing.
Perry had resided at Bol Park in Palo Alto since 1997. As the story goes, one of the original animators from Shrek lived near the pasture and used Perry as the model for the Donkey character famously voiced by Eddie Murphy in the franchise.
In June 2025, Palo Alto Mayor Greer Stone and other local dignitaries gathered at Bol Park to celebrate Perry’s 30th birthday. They also contributed $10,000 to the donkey’s medical costs.
A new Shrek movie, featuring the return of Murphy, Mike Myers, and Cameron Diaz, is set to hit theaters on July 1st, 2026.