Stunt Donkey has Heart Attack

Here is some sad news about an animal that really lived?  A flying donkey you say? The Russian donkey that starred in a viral video that drew the ire of animal lovers worldwide has died.

In July, a Russian parasailing company strapped Anapka, an 18-year-old female donkey, to a parachute and forced it to sail over a southern Russian beach in a misguided attempt at a publicity stunt.

The stunt garnered plenty of negative publicity as horrified beachgoers uploaded a video of it to YouTube, where it sparked worldwide outrage.

In interviews with Russian media, onlookers said children at the beach burst into tears at the sight of the wailing, frightened donkey.

Witnesses even said the animal was dragged through the ocean when it landed.

Cops launched an animal cruelty investigation, but didn’t press charges.

According to the Moscow Times, only maiming or killing an animal is illegal under Russian law.

But the animal was taken from its owners, who rented it to the parasailers for the promotional stunt, and placed on a farm outside Moscow, where, according to the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, it recently died of heart failure.

Veterinarians weren’t able to say whether the heart problems were related to the parasailing stunt.