04/2007: How Jenny Came to Me

It was two and a half weeks into my grand adventure, and I was distraught. My dream of a horse ranch had come true, complete with my dream horse. But the beautiful Paint gelding Renaissance Painter was depressed; the coyotes and bobcats across the fence were scaring the spots off him. His instant bond with me was not enough; like all horses, he needed his own kind. I grabbed the newspaper classifieds, searching for something, anything equine. As my eyes scanned the page, they stopped not on "Horses", but on "Exotic Animals". There it was in black and white: Donkeys for Sale. "Well, donkeys are cute", I thought, "and only $300.00. I think I'll call." Impulse began to rule the day as I made an appointment at a donkey breeding farm about 30 miles northwest of our place. I knew ZERO about donkeys, but I left immediately. Arriving there, I waited at the gate and marvelled at the sight of over a hundred donkeys, mules and horses peacefully grazing on the rolling hills of a vast green pasture. The owner arrived, escorting me down the curving drive to a pen with beautiful donkeys for sale. I entered the pen, seeing different colors and sizes of donkeys, some with new foals. They were all healthy and happy, but my eyes went to a small gray-dun jenny who watched me intently. I couldn't look away. She asked me to take her home and I silently agreed. Her owner, sensing the connection, said she had been with him for eight months, acquired with a group of donkeys from Texas. With hundreds of animals on his farm, Mr. B apparently knew each of them. "She's a good little girl," he said. "She fostered a colt who lost his mother. She'll be a fine guard donkey for you." He explained that she would keep predators away from our place, once she bonded with us. I had no idea. My first lesson in donkey-ology complete, I asked him if he would deliver her. He answered by settling a loop of his lasso around her neck and gently asking her to load in his stock trailer. She gave me a last look, and walked right in. Before I had time to think, I became the owner of Jenny, a small standard donkey. I soon discovered that she had plans for me.