A Maine farmer has almost given up his efforts to corral a donkey he bought two months ago at an auction. Tranquilizers, a luring date and even a horse whisperer have so far failed to persuade Jenny the donkey to make a comeback since she fled the corral, presumably in search for her lost love. Joe Varricchio, the co-owner of the farm called "Mary Gardens," bought Jenny from an auction thinking its presence in the farm would ward off predators like fox, coyotes and raccoons that have been snatching 50 to 60 hens a year. But his hopes were diluted when the freedom-minded equine eluded the farm just two weeks after and since then Varricchio's every effort to corral her have failed.

A New York woman has some help getting around from her seeing eye horse. Ann Edie, 58, has been using her miniature horse as a guide horse since 2003. Panda is 29 inches tall and 120 pounds. Edie's seeing eye dog died after 10 years working for her and she tried out two other dogs before she learned about guide horses. Edie owns two other horses and thought it sounded like a good idea.

A foal who was raised with dogs is now convinced that his parents are labradors and even learned several dog tricks, including chasing sticks along with the rest of the pack. Sue Allery, manager of the Essex Horse and Pony sanctuary, said Rory, the foal, was taken to the sanctuary when he was only one day old because his mother had rejected him.

Major League Baseball and the NFL are not the only sports dealing with suspicions of mass doping. California has taken measures to protect race horses, not only from being doped to win races, but to deter people from using the animals as testing grounds for substances intended for human use. The new tactic is intended to surprise cheaters and disallow them to prepare for drug tests.

In an effort to keep their promenades free from horse droppings, local officials in Blackpool proposed that horse-drawn carriages in the seaside town of north-western England be fitted for diapers. Previously, landau drivers had volunteered to follow carriages with a bucket and shovel in their desperation to keep the tourist town clean. But apparently, council chiefs are not satisfied with the landau drivers' plan and had other ideas, ordering every landau at the seaside resort to be fitted with a rubber and plastic container to collect the droppings.