The Donkeys of Dog Patch Farm
by Sophie Scheps
For more than 70 years, Dog Patch Farm has been a haven for strays…two- and four-legged.
Owned for many years by the Maloney family, the farm off the Springs Road in Warrenton has been a welcoming home for dogs, horses, family and friends for four generations.
And these days, peering around the corner of a run- in shed, a different variety of equine is now ensconced on the premises.
Call them the donkeys of Dog Patch.
Through the power of Facebook, Sharon Maloney has accumulated 17 rescue donkeys in just three short months. It all started with an alleged cruelty case not far away.
“There was this farm where 70 horses were confiscated,”
Sharon, also known to her friends as “Sam,” said in a recent interview. “A friend of mine asked if I’d go down there with her. There were two donkeys and four mini-horses. I took the two donkeys and brought them here.
“Because donkeys can survive on little to nothing, these guys were watching fellow horses starve to death and they survived. There were a few horses that had decent weight. The owner had a field on the road with grass where they were turned out so nobody noticed what was going on.”
After paying $305 for each donkey on PayPal, Maloney borrowed a stock trailer and went to pick up her new charges. She ended up taking five that first trip.
“The second go-round I took ten more,” she said. “I’m up to 17 now and have three more coming.” Maloney has been breaking horses at Dog Patch since 1979, but she’s moving in a different direction these days. “My owners have gone to greener pastures and my rider went to Kentucky for the job of a lifetime,” she said. “So now I’m getting out of the horse business.”
Maloney grew up riding ponies and later bred, owned and trained racehorses from the age of 16. Her brother, Kevin Maloney, showed hunters and j
umpers on the A horse show circuit. He later trained with Olympic Gold Medalist Joe Fargis of Middleburg and competed in the 1983 and 1984 World Cup. Her father and uncle were both prominent and highly- regarded New York racehorse trainers.
The Maloneys’ 54-acre farm began to look desolate recently with
only six retired horses in the large paddocks. Following in the footsteps of her late mother, Betty Maloney, Sharon had a plan.
“My mother and her friends started the Fauquier SPCA,” she said. “The original shelter was here on the farm. Now, I’m the president and the shelter is located in Casanova. I knew I was getting out of horses and I didn’t want the farm to be empty. My mother collected donkeys and had a donkey hood ornament. We even have a room called the donkey room in my house. But we didn’t have any donkeys at the farm.”
The goal this winter will be to tame each donkey and train them to be led, to walk into a stall and to eat out of your hand. In the spring, they’ll be available for adoption, giving Maloney the time and space to rescue more.
Most are Jerusalem donkeys, named for the cross marking that falls on their withers. Legend has it that Jesus bestowed the cross on their back as a tribute to their loyalty carrying him on Palm Sunday. They also come in shades of white, brown and spotted as well as Jerusalem.
Ten-year-old Payton Maloney helps her Aunt Sharon on Sundays with barn chores. When asked what her favorite things about donkeys she said, “Pretty much everything.”
Sharon Maloney and her helpers spend time each day in the fields to acclimate the donkeys to farm life. The first group included five females and it’s still to be determined if they’re in foal. This spring, there could be five newborns.
Entering the field with two buckets, one filled with carrots, the other with tortilla chips, some of the donkeys walk confidently up for a treat. They’ve already made huge strides since their arrival in December. A few others hang back, still a tad shy, but that should change with time. A donkey named Clementine is the most forward.
“She was wild when she first came,” Maloney said. “A big, strong man had a shank and she dragged him all over the field.”
The extremely shy animals get turned out with Diego, the farm’s friendliest
onkey. His current pasture mate is Noelle and the hope is that he’ll teach her all the good things about feed buckets and kind humans.
“Some of them, like Diego and Clementine, will stay forever,” Maloney said. “I maybe will keep the more deviant ones too.”
No matter what, all the donkeys should end up in loving homes and be provided with all the care and attention they desire. Between the Maloneys and other caring local samaritans, more than 100 donkeys have been rescued from kill pens in Texas and the southwest in recent months.
With the generosity of the community, Maloney will keep her donkey rescue completely self-funded and separate from the SPCA. Good friends have been sharing plenty of tortilla chips since the donkeys came to the farm. Her goal is to help as many as possible.
“The stars were aligned,” she said, “for Dog Patch to have donkeys.”
