Man brings donkey to testify on its own behalf

Buddy, accused of loud braying, appears gentle and well-mannered in court

	Buddy the donkey is led by ranch operator Etienne Grimmett and owner Gregory Shamoun, right, into court in Fort Worth, Texas, on Wednesday.
Rick Gershon / AP

Slideshow

Animal Tracks
A Frisbee-playing pooch, a Scuba-diving Santa, a racing greyhound and more images of cute critters.

more photos

Get weird & wonderful news on Twitter

Looking for more strange and fun stories and oddball videos? Follow @msnbc_wow.

Video: Weird news

U.K. queen minds the gap, hops on passenger train
Dec. 18: Without much explanation, Britain's Queen Elizabeth boarded a train in London for her home outside the city yesterday. TODAY's Ann Curry reports.

Tiger statues made from human hair

Bank robber attempts to jump to freedom

4-year-old drinks beer and breaks into neighbor's house

Tiger doll: Hot stocking stuffer

Robber nabbed on rooftop

Library book, 99 years overdue

Discuss odd news on Newsvine

Auschwitz: Iron sign above entrance to concentration camp stolen

Controversial Christmas Display, Jesus versus Santa

Bug powder causes male bedbugs to stab each other to death with their penises

California Chihuahuas high-tail it to city from overwhelmed Hollywood shelters

Death is a debt, we all must pay

Get even more oddness on Newsvine!

updated 5:56 a.m. ET April 19, 2007

DALLAS - Faced with complaints that his donkey was too loud, Dallas attorney Gregory Shamoun decided to bring his case directly to the court: He had the donkey testify.

Buddy the donkey appeared in court Wednesday. He walked to the bench and stared at the jury, the picture of a gentle, well-mannered creature and not the loud, aggressive animal he had been accused of being.

Shamoun was in a dispute with oilman John Cantrell, who had complained to the city about a storage shed Shamoun was building in his backyard in Dallas. Cantrell said Shamoun retaliated by bringing the donkey from his ranch and putting him in the backyard.

Story continues below ↓

advertisement | your ad here

Cantrell complained of donkey noise and manure piles.

“They bray a lot any time day or night. You never know when they’re going to cut loose,” he testified.

Despite the donkey’s appearance, neither jurors or Buddy had the last say — the neighbors settled their dispute while jurors deliberated.