Primrose

I've seen the statue several times and every time I have, I've had questions.

What is that?

Why is it there?

What's the story?

It wasn't until a couple of weeks ago, as my daughter and I were walking from her campus in search of lunch, that we passed by the tall statue and finally stopped to examine it.

I searched for a sign or plaque that would tell the story of a tall donkey, with pink plaster casts wrapped around each of its forelegs, but found nothing.

It took a plea on Twitter to find the answers. Sort of.

Primrose is a donkey that was born prematurely in the UK without fully-formed forelegs, and veterinarians in Shropshire set the casts to help her develop properly. You can see a video here.

So, I know who the donkey is and why she's got pink plaster casts. But I have one unanswered question: why is there a statue of her on Bay Street, Toronto, next to St. Basil's Catholic Parish at the University of St. Michael's College?

What is the Toronto connection?

If you know the answer, please leave it in the Comments section.

Happy Friday!