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Mateo the donkey roamed Aug. 31 along Murfreesboro’s busy Saint Andrews Drive until Heather Bowman corralled her beloved pet.
“I was not ready for that morning cardio. I was struggling,” said Bowman, who witnessed Mateo get loose at 7:05 a.m. to gallop on and to the side of the road before returning home.
“He is back home living his best life. He is quite the entertainer. He thought the grass was greener on the other side, but it is exactly the same stuff. That’s probably why he went back so quick.”
Heather Bowman kisses her donkey Mateo.
Mateo romping away from home on the southwest side of Murfreesboro toward nearby the even busier New Salem Highway follows a well-publicized zebra escape. The zebra nicknamed, “Ed” on social media, disappeared in Rutherford County’s Christiana community south of the city in late May before the wild animal returned to the owner in early June.
Bowman said she’s thankfulf no one was hurt while Mateo “was having the time of his life” on Saint Andrews Drive that leads commuters to Murfreesboro’s nearby Salem and Scales elementary schools.
“There were passers by who asked if they could help,” Bowman said.
“The shout out to the people who helped me were exceptional.”
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‘I’m still sore’
Heather Bowman brushes Betty the cow while and Mateo the donkey wateches.
The donkey in the more recent escpade gallopped through a gate Bowman had opened after she returned home from a 24-hour shift as an advanced emergency medical technician for Rutherford County.
Bowman jogged along with her donkey until she was able coax Mateo to return through the gate of their home.
“I was jogging beside him trying to get him back the opposiste way of New Salem,” Bowman said. “I was able to lure him back. He knew exactly where his home was.”
Mateo sometimes while Bowman jogged beside him would stoop down to take a bite of grass before bolting again. Bowman finally guided the donkey back to the 5-acre property they share with her future husband, Brandon Smith, and free-roaming Betty the cow, 15 goats and over 50 chickens.
“I got shin splints the day after,” Bowman said. “I’m still sore.”
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Donkey arrives as Christmas present
Heather Bowman and her donkey Mateo on his first day at the farm.
Bowman has enjoyed Mateo since Smith surprised his future wife with the donkey as a Christimas present in 2024 when the pet was 2-months-old. She also recognizes the religious influence that donkeys have in the Gospels as an animal serving Jesus.
“Donkeys have crosses on their backs,” Bowman said.
“They are wonderful. They love to be loved on. They feed off your mood.”
Smith kept his future wife from figuring out the actual present the week before by giving Bowman a blow up donkey.
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‘He has been my little therapy animal’
Like Bowman, Smith works for the Rutherford County Emergency Medical Services. He finished a 24-hour shift as a paramedic, as well, when Bowman told him Mateo got loose.
Mateo helps the couple de-stress from the trauma they face as EMS responders.
“He has been my little therapy animal,” Bowman said.
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Couple will be adopting another donkey friend for Mateo
Brandon Smith with Mateo the donkey, who is wearing a tiny sombrero.
Bowman has bonded with Betty the cow. He also stands guard against coyotes that might want to attack the goats and chickens on the couple’s leased 5 acres that’s part of the historic Boxwood plantation.
Smith works as a part-time farmhand for the adjacent 40 acres with cattle to the back of the couple’s old farmhouse.
Bowman and Smith plan to lease more farmland to start their own herd of cattle.
Given Betty the cow will join the future heard, the couple will be adding another yet-named 2-month old donkey to be a new close friend for Mateo on Sept. 5.
“We think it’s a girl,” Bowman said. “We’ll get to name her on Friday.”
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Couple from Nashville love their farm animals in Murfreesboro
Goats and chickens on Heather Bowman and Brandon Smith’s property where Mateo lives.
Bowman grew up in East Nashville before embracing the life of raising farm animals.
“I love them more than people,” Bowman said.
Smith grew up in the Antioch community on the southeast side of Nashville. He spent summers in the Brentwood area working at Ravenwood Farms that was owned by his father’s Uncle Reece Smith. The farm included Tennessee Walking Horses.
The couple now enjoy letting people admire Mateo and their other farm animals.
“This is phenomenal,” Bowman said.
“If our donkey story can bring a smile to someomone’s face, that is a win for us because we love poeple and making people happy.”
Heather Bowman and her donkey Mateo.
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Reach reporter Scott Broden with news tips or questions by emailing him at sbroden@dnj.com. To support his work with The Daily News Journal, sign up for a digital subscription.
This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: Middle TN donkey gets loose in Murfreesboro, chased, caught by owner
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