Six of them died in one night.
"The horror, the trauma, the disbelief, the death, You would have thought we were describing a situation like what this country has been going through lately," says Betty Coulter, who lives in Gray.
Coulter raised those donkeys for the past 10 years.
But when a pack of dogs invaded her land on April 25th, they slaughtered six of them, almost half her herd.
"With the donkeys, I thought they would be strong enough to protect because they have a powerful kick to them," she says.
Some of the loose dogs belonged to her neighbor, Lloyd Strickland.
"I was in the hospital at the time and wasn't here to watch my dogs and they got out," he says.
Two days spent in the hospital was long enough for his dogs to wreak havoc.
"I never thought these dogs would've teamed up like they did and did what they did," he says.
Coulter and Strickland agreed that he should surrender the dogs to the Jones County Animal Control.
"We love animals, and I'm sorry what happened to the donkeys from the bottom of my heart and I love my dogs, too, but I had to resolve the problem somehow," says Strickland.
These dogs are up for adoption at the Animal Control - three Rottweilers and one mixed breed - all described as sweet and shy.
"They are temperament tested, how they react to the staff, to other dogs," says animal control director Jennifer Giddens.
Animal Control says they'll make full disclosure of the dog's pasts to anyone who wants to adopt them. For some, it's a history that can't be erased.
Coulter says she started carrying a gun after what happened.
"I had to, you know, for reasons you wouldn't imagine. That you're out working in your yard and you just have to have that gun," she says.
Both Coulter and Strickland are finding ways to move forward after losing members of their families.
Animal Control says some people are already interested in adopting the dogs.
(13WMAZ - April 30, 2013)
