Sugar

Rescued! That’s Sugar’s story. Sugar had a very hard life before coming to NarroWay. In fact, she was on a trailer with a load of donkeys going to the slaughterhouse when a kind elderly, handicapped man stopped the trailer and offered to give the donkeys a chance to live. He knew nothing about donkeys but had a small woody field in Chester, SC. So, he bought the donkeys for $25 each, brought them home and turned them loose. Shortly thereafter, he became very ill.

At the same time, we were in the process of losing our dearly loved, sorrel standard donkey, Gabriel. Gabriel was NarroWay’s prized donkey, faithfully on stage for 22 years. But he was gravely ill with bone cancer. He could not go on stage anymore.

We couldn’t just “replace” Gabriel. We wanted to honor him. We decided that the best way to honor our beloved friend was to rescue one of his kind.

We were told about the rescued donkeys and the man who was unable to care for them. When we went to the farm, we found 10 wild donkeys - two females and eight males. One of the females had a young colt. When they were fed, the aggressive males pushed and fought, making it difficult for the females to get anything to eat.

None of the donkeys were responsive to human contact. Some had noticeable physical ailments. But our hearts were captured. We took the female with the colt.

With the faith that she would grow to be sweet, we named the mother “Sugar.” The young colt we named “Chester.”

Sugar arrived at NarroWay on September 24, 2020. Not used to feeling trapped, she was not happy about her travel arrangements and even less happy with the stall we had prepared. But after good nutrition, loving care and many hours of patient, persistent training, her survival spirit gradually melted into a sense of trust and security. Miraculously both she and Chester were on stage in front of an audience within a month’s time.

Today, Sugar is affectionate and eager for human interaction. She reminds us of an over-sized, favorite stuffed animal. It is as if she remembers her former days and is thankful for the love and kindness she knows now.

We don’t know exactly how old Sugar is, but she appeared to be around 5 years old when she came to us. That would make her birth year 2015. When you see Sugar’s back, you’ll notice a physical deformity. We don’t know if that was there from birth or came from abuse or an accident. Because of that, we never have a rider on Sugar, but she carries a stunning, colorful pack saddle in “The Real Christmas Story.”

Sugar is independent and strong but also loves to be around her son, Chester, and her best friend, Pattycakes. Her favorite treats are carrots and peppermint horse treats, and she loves friendly nuzzle rubs.

She is on stage for “The Gospel According to Tennessee” and all biblical shows. She is especially featured in act 2 of “The Real Christmas Story” as she travels with Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus.