Heartbroken youngster pens poem for Blacon's Pedro

Feb 3 2011 by Allison Dickinson, Chester Chronicle

Heartbroken youngster pens poem for Pedro

A BELOVED four-legged friend has passed away after spending 20 years at a community farm.

Pedro, 21, was one of two donkeys at the Blacon Adventure Playground. He was receiving treatment for a kidney problem but had to be put to sleep after vets discovered he wasn’t responding to treatment, leaving youngsters devastated.

But one girl, 11-year-old Daryl Northern, a pupil at The Arches Primary School, did more than shed a tear – she wrote a prayer and a poem for the departed donkey.

Daryl’s mother Kathleen said: “She was really upset. She wrote the prayer herself and found a poem on the internet which she adapted.

“She spends a lot of time down at the farm, she really loves it there, and she was really fond of Pedro. It’s really sad that he died.”

Pedro’s brother Domino still lives at the farm and concerned keepers say he has been quiet but seems to be coping.

Senior play leader Paul Noon said: “It has been a very sad time and some of the children got quite upset.

“But there was nothing we could do and in the end we had no choice.”

The farm, which houses a small flock of sheep, hens, ducks and even a wallaby, is looking for another donkey.