Donkeys, the worst hit by the drought, rescued by the Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue MILES, Texas, July 28, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Over 300 donkeys have been rescued so far this year in Texas as a direct result of the drought.

Genetic investigators say the partnership between people and the ancestors of today's donkeys was sealed not by monarchs trying to establish kingdoms, but by mobile, pastoral people who had to recruit animals to help them survive the harsh Saharan landscape in northern Africa more than 5,000 years ago.

Neighbors of a family in Andover, Mass., say they should not be forced to hear the family's two donkeys bray for food from their backyard home. Trained biologist Leyla Schimmel said the two donkeys her family houses behind their neo-Colonial house would only bray on the rare occasion her 12-year-old

GILLETTE, Wyo. - He rode his mule into town looking for work. No, it wasn't the opening scene of a Western movie. It was what Rod Maday did last week, ending a six-week odyssey from his home town of Boy River, Minn. "I've done about 1,500 miles and I've got the saddle sores to prove it," he said.

PITTSFIELD, Maine - Jenny the donkey remains on the lam but her owners may be closer to corralling the incorrigible critter. Ever since she escaped on Jan. 18, the donkey has stymied efforts to get her back including tranquilizers and a horse whisperer.