Florida family brings donkey in bedroom to ride out Hurricane Milton in the dark as nearly 3 million lose power
A family from Florida who run a farm in the state have brought a baby donkey inside their bedroom in order to protect the foal from hurricane force winds as Milton passes through.
Rick Bass and Sara Weldon from Clermont between Tampa and Orlando had been dreading the moment that the hurricane would plow through their farm and had been posting apprehensive videos in the days leading up to Wednesday’s landfall.
Sarah posted a number of tearful TikTok videos to Our Simple Homestead account which has almost 400,000 followers in which she shared her love for her animals, while also appearing to be in despair over what to do.
‘I alternate between feeling calm and then crying over my animals,’ Sara said. ‘We are in the direct path of where this hurricane is supposed to hit. … We’re not evacuating. And please, don’t ask me to.’
A couple from Florida who run a farm between Tampa and Orlando brought a young donkey into their bedroom to protect it from Hurricane Milton
Cash the foal was described as a ‘calming presence’ as he was welcomed into the family home
‘All these animals are our children,’ she said, with tears streaming down her cheeks.
She and her husband were particularly concerned that the barn in which the donkey normally resides would come crashing down after being blown to pieces the 120mph winds.
Although the advice is usually to leave animals out in the open, the family were particularly concerned with the hurricane was due to make landfall in the middle of the night.
Throughout the course of Wednesday night users demanded updates from the couple as to the welfare of the animals.
The donkey, named Cash, could be seen resting his head on Rick’s knee.
Later the furry animal could be seen in the couples nicely decorated bedroom resting on the wooden floor alongside a number of family dogs.
Cash the donkey found a comfy place on the bedroom floor. Sara can be seen on the bed
The couple’s dogs were also brought into the bedroom to ride out the ferocious storm
About 20 chickens were also brought inside the family home – although not in the bedroom
Rick described having the donkey inside the house as having a calming presence, while he anxiously viewed terrifying video footage of the vicious winds, as the hurricane made landfall on the coast.
The animals were completely oblivious to the life endangering storm going on outside.
The couple also posted video of some tiny chickens that would’ve been unlikely to have survived the devastating winds had they been left outside.
Sara says she has been moved by the outpouring of support and has continued to thank her followers for praying for the family and their farm.
‘We have been filled with so much love from all over the world — offers of farms to bring the animals to, and more importantly, we have an entire world praying for the protection of our farm.
The despair on Sara Weldon’s face was clear to see as she struggled with her decision
Rick Bass described Cash’s presence in the home as particularly calming
‘I alternate between feeling calm and then crying over my animals. When I say goodnight to them tonight, I have no idea if I will see them again; that is an excruciating and heavy thought,’ Sarah said.
The couple care for more than 100 animals including 10 donkeys, nine Highland cows, four goats and more than one hundred chickens.
‘We have been through other hurricanes but never in the direct path like we are for this one,’ Sara said.
‘Evacuating all of our animals would take a miracle, so we stay put with them. They are our children, and we want to stay. We are in a voluntary evacuation zone for now and are not near any bodies of water,’ she went on.
‘For us, we have stocked up on gas and propane, filled bathtubs and gotten plenty of food and water. We stocked up on feed for the animals, ensured fences were tight, and gave them all the love and prayers we can.’
