Pattycakes

Pattycakes is a legend around the NarroWay barn. She has been on stage for over 22 years. She is the only remaining member of the NarroWay herd who performed outdoors at King’s Arena Amphitheater, where NarroWay first started.

This little brown miniature donkey looks much like a pinata. At 3-years-old she came to us from Georgia in 2002. We affectionately named her “Pattycakes” in honor of the wonderful lady and Board of Directors member, Pat Dinger, who donated the funds to purchase Pattycakes. Pattycakes wasn’t happy with her move to South Carolina at first. For several days, we spent lots of time in her stall letting her get to know and trust us.

Before coming to NarroWay, Patty had a significant health issue called laminitis. The common name for this condition is to say that an animal “foundered.” Founder is a painful inflammation in the hoof. It causes intense pain and causes the animal to be reluctant to walk or alters their gait. It can cause lameness. While at NarroWay, Pattycakes has been under the consistent care of a corrective farrier. She is still more prone to abscesses than any of the rest of her herd. When this happens, we act quickly, relieving her of her performance duties and lovingly soaking the affected hoof in warm water and Epsom salts.

Pattycakes’ beautiful coat allows her admirers to view the shape of cross on her back. The cross is created by a darker stripe that runs down her back with a perpendicular line through the stripe across the withers.

This sweet and humble lady is the gentlest, most consistent animal on the NarroWay stage. Even the small cast children can lead Pattycakes on stage. She is so compliant; she would likely stand in her spot on the stage without any attendant at all! When we are training cast members to do chores in the barn, Pattycakes is always the first one we use for training. She is “bomb proof!”

Pattycakes likes to hang out with Sugar and Chester, our standard donkeys. She and Sugar are especially good buddies and often team up to ward off Chester’s mischief.

Pattycakes is on stage for every biblical production at NarroWay. Her leading role is in “SAMSON,” playing the part of Samson’s donkey. She is also in “The Gospel According to Tennessee.”