DONKEYS HELP YOUR HEART HEAL



Our New Puppy "Max"

You may think this posting has little to do with donkeys. In actuality it has everything to do with the donkeys, as you will see.

Three years ago we lost our most cherished companion, our fourteen year old dog Chica. She was such a wonderful dog and I still miss her. In the Fall of 2010 we lost one of our two thirteen year old cats to complications from diabetes. And this past March our sweet Grey Cat passed away.

I thought I just wouldn't allow myself to love another animal. The heartbreaking sadness at their passing seemed to over shadow all the wonderful years we had had together.

So we dogsat our neighbour's dog, and friends' dogs, and our son's dogs. That was fine because I didn't have to get too emotionally attached. I could play with them and enjoy them for a week or two and then they went away - alive and well.

Enter the Turtle Valley Donkey Refuge and the donkeys and their guardians. My heart opened to these amazing creatures immediately and I believe they sensed my sadness and fear. Yes, fear - that I would give my heart to another animal companion only to have it die.

It is hard to put into words the effect that these wonderful donkeys have on you if you open your heart to them. Most of them have been through horrific ordeals - abuse, neglect, abandonment - YET THEY ARE THERE FOR YOU. They willing accept your ear rubs and scratches and seldom shy away. And while you think you are giving THEM all the attention, they are quietly seeing inside your soul, the private place where you hide your every thought, your every sadness, your every fear. And, for at least a little while, all the worries melt away and your heart is happy.

Imagine experiencing this freedom and joy two or three times a week for what seems like forever but is really only about ten months. I love these donkeys for who they are and for what they have given to me - the courage to deal with the sadness of losing Chica, Black and Grey and to allow myself to lovingly accept another dog into our home, knowing that nothing lasts forever. Knowing that death is just the last chapter of the book, not the entire book.

For you see, donkeys can also experience great loss. Jack, our senior donkey lost his friend of twenty years, Sady, in January. He has been mourning for many months but yesterday while I walking him I felt him feeling better. We all heal - at our own pace and in our own way.

Can a donkey be your mentor? I believe so.

Tomorrow, Tom and I drive to the Island to pick up our new puppy. Now what might that have to do with donkeys and what we call donkey magic? Maybe nothing - or maybe everything.