Summertime and the living is easy – especially for Scooby Doo the donkey

Trainer Philip Kirby has a couple of runners on Saturday, of which Nautical Nitwit represents perhaps his best chance of picking up some prize-money. While one nitwit is out of the yard, another, however, will still be around, quite possibly watching the racing in his owners’ front room.

As the picture shows, Scooby Doo the donkey is not averse to some creature comforts – and once he’s got a taste for it, he’s not easily shifted.

Trainer’s wife Pippa, who captured this unusual family photo that also features Sukie the dog and their daughter Indy, said: "He doesn't live in the house and occasionally he gets to come in, but he won't go out again.

“He was a present from Father Christmas and he normally spends his days in a paddock by the gallops.

“He gets lots of visitors and the horses are used to the sight of him and his strange noises now. He's only a yearling."

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