Donkeys are the cutest things.

Every day on my way home from work I pass by Domino’s Farms. They have a petting farm and some of the coolest animals you will ever see as you speed by at 80 miles per hour. In case you aren’t familiar with it, Domino’s Farms is a mega complex built by Tom Monaghan, founder of Domino’s Pizza.

People in the Detroit area have always known that Tom is a little bit eccentric. The wild success of Domino’s over the years has allowed Tom to pursue any number of passions. He has an interest in architecture and modeled the Domino’s HQ building after a Frank Lloyd Wright design. He bought Drummond Island in Northern Michigan and built a retreat there, also fashioned in the FLW style. He collects rare automobiles, once paying 8.1million for a Bugatti Royales. At one time he owned the Detroit Tigers and led them to a World Series win before selling the franchise to his rival, Mike Ilitch, owner of Little Caesar’s Pizza.


He built a “Leaning Tower of Pizza” which stands, or leans, right out front of the office.

He also purchased a buffalo herd that thrives there to this day.

Tom sold Domino’s in 1998 for $1 Billion dollars. His most recent passion is a little town called Ave Marie, Florida, which he created. Tom is a devout Catholic and avid pro-lifer. He has a dream to start a Catholic town with a University at its center but also with a thriving residential and business district. Tom would of course ban pornography, contraceptives and abortions in his town. See, I told you he was crazy.

But all his eccentricities won’t keep me away this weekend. I have never been to the petting farm Tom built on his property. Every day that I pass by I see the animals waiting patiently for me to come and pet them. I’m hoping that the swine flu scare will keep people away from the farm. Which is good because now I won’t have to worry about how to gracefully push the four and five year olds out of my way so I can pet the animals.