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Pet Donkey's 'Smile' Delights Owner

A pet mini-donkey was caught on camera as he brayed, then showed his gums in a hilarious “smile” at his farm in Palm City, Florida.

In the video, uploaded to the Instagram account @bocephus_the_donkey, three-year-old donkey Johnny can be seen letting out a loud bray before curling his lip.

Johnny’s owner told Storyful that Johnny was purchased as a pet from an auction at 10 months and had been standoffish at first, but now loved attention.

“Johnny wasn’t used to being around people, and we’ve spent so much time with him that he now loves spending time with us,” they said.

“He started smiling about three months ago when we would rub his ears,” they added. “My son would play with him, and one day he just smiled. It was so fun to see. Now he smiles pretty often.”

According to sciencedirect.com, the donkey “smile” is not a reflection of joy but a reaction to a new smell and is called a “flehmen response.”

Johnny’s owner told Storyful that the video showed the first time Johnny smiled after braying. “I’m so glad I was recording him!” they said, adding that the donkey was “singing” because he was excited about his owner hanging out with him.

“He knew I was going to groom him and spend time loving him.” Credit: @bocephus_the_donkey via Storyful

Video Transcript

[NO SPEECH]