LEXINGTON, Va. Oct. 20, 2025 — A furry, long-eared, and somewhat stubborn guest visited Virginia Military Institute’s comparative animal nutrition class taught by Maj. Natalie Slone, instructor in the Department of Biology.

Fireball, a five-year-old miniature donkey owned by Slone and her family, was brought to class for a demonstration using the Henneke Body Condition Scoring System (BCS), a method for evaluating equine nutritional status and body fat percentage. According to Slone, cadets in the class have been learning about lipid metabolism and energy storage. “My goal in bringing Fireball to class was to provide application to the nutritional content being discussed in class. The BCS scoring for Fireball was a hands-on activity to aid in making decisions regarding any changes necessary to his feeding and housing. Even if the cadets don’t plan for a career in nutrition, hopefully the next time they see the family dog, they will pause to determine its body conditioning. They now know how to read a dog food label, and can decide if they ought to reconsider what type of food it is being fed based on the ingredients and proximate analysis.”

Skyleigh D’Ambrosia ’26, a biology major from Athol, Massachusetts, stated Fireball coming to the class provided a practical context to their lesson. “Instead of staring at pictures on a board, we got to touch and examine him ourselves using what we have learned in class. I now understand the detail and work in examining live animals. I left the class in a good mood, much more excited about what I had learned, and with a better understanding of the class’s practical applications.”

Jagen Ratlief ’27, a biology major from Henrico, Virginia, remarked that it’s not every day a donkey visits a class at VMI. “Maj. Slone generously brought in Fireball. She pointed out areas of excess fat deposits and gave us the chance to get comfortable working around the animal.”

In addition to VMI, Fireball has made guest appearances at Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the Virginia Tech Honors College. He participates in fundraising activities for various organizations, offers outdoor Christmas photo opportunities, and appears in the annual Blacksburg Christmas parade.

Marianne Hause
Communications & Marketing
VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE