Known as Isabella to all who passed by her field at Rashee Road, she had a constant stream of admiring visitors - from young children in pushchairs to pensioners out for an afternoon stroll.
But last week the animal's owners were left heart-broken when their family pet was savagely mauled by a dog and sustained fatal injuries to her head and neck.
Several people telephoned the Newtownabbey Times to express their horror at the attack on little Isabella, who was owned by the Mitchell family and grazed in a field beside their house.
It is believed that last Thursday's attack was carried out by a pit bull-type dog and although a vet was quickly on the scene, the donkey's injuries were so severe that she failed to recover and died on Sunday.
The incident has had a devastating effect on Tom Mitchell and his wife Cherry, who said this week: "We have lost a little friend."
In fact, the donkey spent all her life in the Rashee Road field beside her owners' home - and Cherry has clear memories of the day Isabella was born, when she was carried in great excitement to a bedroom in the house to meet the family.
"She was treated as part of the family from the very beginning. She was a real little character and a much loved pet, which makes it all the more distressing to see her life end like this," said Cherry.
"A lot of people in the town knew her. They used to stop on their way past and call her by name.
"People would feed her through the gate - she loved ginger snaps and Polo mints."
"When she heard her name being called, she would bray and sometimes break into a gallop, particularly if she knew the person had food for her."
Such was Isabella's popularity that local residents used to stop off at a local shop and buy apples and carrots for the donkey.
"We have had a lot of phone calls since she died," added Tom. "It has been a very sad time for the whole family - and it's dreadful to think that she had such a stressful and traumatic death."
The loss has also been felt deeply by the Mitchells' three grown-up sons, for whom Isabella had been a much-loved childhood friend.
The incident is being investigated by police and by Newtownabbey Borough Council's dog warden department.