Probably not exactly the headline you thought you would read today, right? Not really the article I thought I would be writing, but beauty shows itself in mysterious ways sometimes.

High school student Payton Dankworth never thought she would be mother to a baby donkey either, but I guess life is weird like that. Payton received a call from a friend who was out riding her horse when she came across the abandoned baby.

This girl's mother refused to take it home to look after so, desperate, the friend called Payton. Luckily Payton was in a situation where she was able to take on the task, and thus the story began.

Meet Jack the Donkey

Jack and his new Mom.

“One day my friend was out riding horses when he stumbled across Jack,”

Payton said

 “His mom wasn’t taking him so he called me and asked if i’d like to try and keep him alive. He was very malnourished and wasn’t doing very good. So I told him yes, I would do my best!”

Cute!

“The first night was the hardest night with him, trying to get him to eat and use the bathroom so we would know that his insides weren’t shutting down,”

Payton continued.

“After we got through the first night he started taking a bottle and going to the bathroom.”

So small!

 “He became really playful and now loves playing with my dogs. Right now he sleeps inside with me since he’s still so little and I give him a bottle about every two hours and then take him outside to use the bathroom. Jack also will not go to sleep unless my dog is with him. He will cry all night instead.”

Bonded for life.

“I grew up showing steers and I’ve had my fair share of what you would call life on the farm,”

she explained.

“I don’t actually live on a farm but we do have property with other livestock animals on it.”

Dinner time!

“Jacks transformation has been the greatest thing ever to watch,”

she told us.

“It’s been so heart touching watching him thrive.”

Family affair.

What a heartwarming story! We all wish them both a long and happy life!