Fans Heartbroken After Miniature Donkey Who Inspired 'Shrek' Character Dies

Fans of the Shrek franchise are grieving the loss of Perry, the donkey model behind the creation of the famous and beloved Donkey from the Dreamworks films, voiced by Eddie Murphy.

Perry, whose full name was Pericles, was adopted when he was three years old and lived his life in Palo Alto, California, at Barron Park.

In 1999, a local animator from Pacific Data Images interviewed and photographed Perry to begin creating Donkey's character for the films. Though Perry was only paid 75 dollars for his time, the staff at Barron Park were impressed by how much of Perry's personality was embodied in Donkey's character.

He was euthanized after suffering from a painful and debilitating hoof disease.

Perry's handler at Barron Park, Jenny Kiratli, announced:

"We are heartbroken to share that our beloved Barron Park donkey, Perry, passed away yesterday at the age of 30."

"He was a beloved member of our community, and we know many people will be touched by his passing."

The staff at Barron Park spent months providing care for Perry, including acupuncture, massages, laser light therapy, and pain medicine, but they knew it was time to let their beloved friend go.

After the euthanasia, Perry was left in the field for several hours to give his friends, April and Buddy, time to process the loss and begin to grieve.

Kiratli reflected:

"Throughout the night, they (April and Buddy) were moving up, nosing in, understanding that he was gone. They grieved."

You can see the announcement here:

Fans of the franchise were heartbroken at the news of Perry's passing.

Others paid specific homage to Perry, instead of to Donkey from Shrek.

Though the Shrek franchise lives on, it's heartbreaking to know one of the models behind the films, especially of such a beloved character, has passed.

Fortunately, Perry's pain has ended, and his memory lives on through one of the most nostalgic series of the early 2000s.