The Riverside County Animal Services Department responded to a report of a donkey with an orange cone stuck in one of its hooves Friday.
Officials explained that the cone may have been a construction cone or the type used in sports leagues. The cone was on stuck on the animal's right front leg.
In a statement, the agency explained that Animal Services officer Chris Peck could not approach the donkey because of the terrain and nervousness of the animal. So, the officer requested the help of Lt. James Huffman with a tranquilizer dart, but the donkey was not adequately sedated by the technique.
Officer Peck approached the donkey in a non-threatening manner, stepping back towards him and pretending he was not interested in the animal. He stood close to the donkey, dropped slowly on one knee with the donkey seemingly comfortable with the officer's presence. Peck quickly grabbed the cone and took it off the animal, Animal Services said in a statement.
"The good news is that the donkey did not seem to have any injuries related to the temporary use of the cone," Peck said. "He probably got stuck early in the morning. The donkeys are curious and playful. He was probably playing with it and then he had his 'uh-oh' moment."
The donkey was seen near a development on Spring Mountain Road and East Palmyrita Avenue in Riverside.
