Newest Member of the Iona House family: Festus the mini-mule

Our domestic animal population doubled recently: from 1 to 2. :) It’s about to jump to 8-10 when we get goats (more on this soon). We have been so grateful to have Mink (the beautiful, 21-year-old, quarter-horse who came with the property). Horses are herd animals and we’ve been planning to get some companions for her. We have also been keen on getting a goat herd (a project in process) to eat our poison oak and produce goats milk for Iona House. So, we have been searching for a great animal to be both a guardian for the goat herd (from coyotes, dogs, mountain lions, etc.) as well as a companion for Mink.

A couple of weeks ago we were introduced to Festus and fell in love. Festus is a mini-mule (mother is a donkey, father a miniature horse). He’s 13 years old. Ironically he was rescued from a bad situation near Placerville about 8 years ago and taken to Nevada City. We purchased him from a kind person who cared for him, and now we’ve brought him back to Placerville. He’s incredibly sweet. He’s well trained. He loves kids and is quite gentle. He’s also wicked smart (he can untie the gate latch). As soon as he arrived, we realized how much Mink had wanted a companion as she literally quivered with excitement and pranced around her paddock. It was quite the sight. Ever since, the two of them have been inseparable.

The idea is for Festus to be the guardian animal for our goats. But we’ll have to see if we can pry him away from Mink without a crisis.

We predict Festus will be a favorite with kids and adults alike. He loves attention and will happily take a carrot and a neck scratching from anyone.