A day-old burro was rescued by an Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) trooper after his mom was struck and killed on a highway.
The department said on Facebook everything unfolded Sept. 5 on State Route 74 near Lake Pleasant.
The newborn burro was saved by DPS Sgt. Roger Hansen, along with other troopers and Arizona Department of Transportation officials who responded to the scene. They knew the animal could not survive in the wild alone after being found near where his mom was killed.
Hansen and the others reached out to Stacie Thomas of One Step Wild Burros and Mustang Rescue, who agreed to take in the foal. Hansen managed to get the burro into the back of his vehicle and brought him over.
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"Once he arrived at the rescue, Ms. Thomas was able to match the foal with a nursing mother burro. The little guy quickly settled in and adjusted to his adoptive mom, and has been eating, running and playing just like a little burro should," Arizona DPS said.
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Thomas's grandson even named the small donkey "Roger" after Hansen.
A DPS trooper intends to wait for Roger to be old enough to leave the rescue, and then adopt him.
