Tuesday, December 25, 2018

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL...!!

Jasper wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas
   


Bella says Santa came early this year..........YUM......!!



Linda catching up on her donkey time with Levi and he is more than willing to cooperate.  He's laying on the ground and she said he almost fell asleep.  


Sometime in the next few days, we are suppose to haul an intact jack named Elgin to his new home at Lucky A Ranch in Alpine, AZ.  His owner has some serious health problems and has been hospitalized and in rehab for quite sometime.  Elgin is suppose to be friendly, but unhandled, whatever that means..........LOL  I've found out over the years that one person's "friendly" doesn't always mean the same thing.  Which is why we waited until Lynn and Linda got back to do this.  I'll probably try to call the woman that has been taking care of him tomorrow and set up a time to go get him.  I talked to Michelle at Lucky A yesterday and she asked if we could pick up a mini mule in northern Tucson and bring him too.  As with the case of "friendly", not everyone's description of "northern Tucson" is the same.  When we picked up Big Gus and Rambo, "west" of Tucson it took almost an extra hour to get there from Tucson..........LOL  John and I plan on overnighting somewhere up there anyway, so no big deal.  Lynn and Linda will come with us to round Elgin up and once he's in the trailer, they will head back home to take care of the donkeys while we're gone. 

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Tish, you are a wonderful and rare person. So many people are indifferent in this world. Hanging out with my donkeys is showing me more about humans than I ever expected. There are givers and takers, and people who care and people who are just not interested at all in their surroundings.

I received your book and other materials in the mail this week. The Definitive Donkey is an amazingly rich book. Thank you so much.

When I looked it up and realized how much it cost you, I was astonished and embarrassed. Your generosity is commendable, but I went and purchased a used old copy on Amazon so I could return yours to you as soon as possible. Maybe you can then share it with another person in need of a 'toolkit' for understanding a donkey.

My (distressed, very loud, lonely and extremely restless) 8-month old mini donkey "Padre" now has bonded with his companion (a 4 month old mini-jack foal, "Lucky", which we thought would not be weaned or available for pickup for another month) and both are now quiet, happy, and profoundly content. My neighbors, who were up in arms and up all night, have settled down right along with them.

It was a rough patch during the 3+ weeks between picking up each donkey. I didn't do much else except walk, love, and train Padre, for 23 days while he was solo, but even 5 hours a day with him was not enough to quell his loneliness. I was able to pick up "Lucky" in Phoenix just 2 days before Christmas. I hope they are companions for life.

Your kind and true support on the phone, and the resources you sent me so quickly, made a big a difference in my ability to keep up hope that I could, indeed, successfully take care of a donkey. I realize your main work is in homing donkeys who have been "given-up" on...but I never considered that you would work in other ways, such as helping to keep donkeys and their donkey-owners together, through knowledge and understanding and faith.

Every day is a new challenge and a new success with these two characters who have blessed my life. I am a very poor woman, but I always pay my debts, and I consider myself in debt to you & Donkey Sanctuary, so if you just give me a little time to get beyond the demands of the holidays, you will find I've repaid your costs and effort.

Thank you! And Happy holidays. The people of Bisbee really enjoyed seeing my two mini's string along, leading like champions, on Christmas Eve in Old Bisbee. They were petted by dozens of children last night, and will be a big boon to the city's tourism, education, copper camp history, and general happiness.

Blessing on your head!

Sincerely,

Roxandra Pennington

The Dancing Donkey said...

Merry Christmas and keep up the great work. As Roxandra said above, you guy go above and beyond. Thank you for it.

Tish said...

Thank you for the kind words Roxandra, to me it is vital that people build a strong bond with their donkeys, which will hopefully become a lifetime relationship. It's not unusual for a donkey to have 7-10 homes in their lifetime. So it is very important for new owners to know what they need in order to be comfortable with their new friend and to be able to give him what he needs. You seem to be a caring person and want to do what is right, so you've won half the battle. You just needed a little encouragement. How fun that you took them out for Christmas Eve and the people got to enjoy seeing them. Take them out every chance you get into new situations. It's all education for them to learn to be comfortable in all situations if "mom" says it's OK and going to be fun.

Tish said...

Dancing Donkey......I wish we could do more. But it's always so wonderful when someone like Roxandra, makes a breakthrough and can continue to grow with their "fur" kids. I hope things are going well for you and your kids. May 2019 be a year filled with health and happiness for you. A little wealth wouldn't hurt either.......!!! LOL