An Olathe women’s donkey statue has been loved by the neighborhood for years. It sits on the side of 143rd Street and is always wearing a new paint design. Throughout the month of June, it was painted the colors of the rainbow, and has been vandalized twice since.
The donkey statue is named Donk Donk.
“There he lived for many years, minding his own business,” said Louise, the statue owner.
Louise painted it rainbow at the request of a little girl who drives past Donk Donk every day. She said it just happened to coincide with pride month. The first time Donk Donk was vandalized, it was allegedly set on fire.
That’s when Louise says she put up a camera. She saw the second act of vandalism on her security footage. Donk Donk was thrown across the road.
“I saw that he was you know cracked in places and he was leaking his sand, and his head was all split and I thought this is just awful,” said Louise.
Even though parts of the donkey are falling apart, the surrounding neighborhoods are coming together. Louise says since she posted about the vandalism on Nextdoor she’s received dozens of messages of support for Donk Donk, and even offers to fix or replace the donkey.