Donkey may not have made waffles in the morning — that last part in Eddie Murphy’s voice — without the help of Perry the Donkey. According to a report from the New York Times, Perry the Donkey, who served as the reference for the Eddie Murphy-voiced character in ‘Shrek,

Perry, a Jerusalem miniature donkey, was first brought to California to help calm polo ponies, but instead he nipped at them, according to the project’s website. So in 1997, the “spunky” 3-year-old was brought to Palo Alto’s Bol Park to live in a pasture set aside for donkeys to graze.

Indeed, Perry was the miniature donkey whose physical appearance was the model for Eddie Murphy’s Donkey in the Shrek films – the first of which was released in 2001 to massiv

"I can attest that many of Donkey’s classic head tilts, eye rolls and bouncy trots were straight from Perry," the animal's handler, Jenny Kiratli, tells PEOPLE

Known as the inspiration for Donkey in the 2001 animated classic Shrek, Perry was a beloved staple in the Palo Alto community

Born as Pericles in New York City in 1994, Perry was known for his playful and talkative nature. He became the ideal inspiration for Donkey, the character voiced by Eddie Murphy in the Shrek films. Perry’s energetic personality and charm were reflected in the animated character,

A real-life donkey who served as the animation model for the character Donkey in the “Shrek” franchise died on Thursday at the age of 30 at his home in California. Pericles, affectionately known as Perry,

A REAL-life donkey that inspired Eddie Murphy’s character in Shrek has died aged 30. Born in New York in 1994, Perry rose to fame after animators modelled the Donkey character in the

Perry died after a battle with a painful hoof disease. The character Donkey in the successful franchise is understood to have been modelled after Perry.

Perry — the miniature donkey who was the animation model for the iconic character voiced by Eddie Murphy in the movie Shrek — has died.