DONKEYS AND CHILDREN

My sister from Kamloops and I sometimes meet in Chase to have coffee and share a giggle or two. There is a lovely little soup and sandwich shoppe called Simply De Vine Coffee that is wonderful place for our rendezvous. This time, I arrived first, and way ahead of time so decided to relax over a nice cup of fresh brewed coffee while I waited for my sister.

When I picked up my coffee, the gentle lady behind the counter asked me if I volunteered at the Donkey Refuge. I replied that I did and asked her how she knew. She had remembered that I was wearing one of my Refuge t-shirts the last time my sister and I had met at the shoppe.

She went on to tell me that she had since taken her young grandchildren to the Refuge and that they had had a wonderful time there. One of her grandchildren is quite "busy" (my word) yet when he was with the donkeys he was calm and quiet and that he absolutely loved them. She didn't know why but that there was just something about the donkeys.

I knew why.....it's that Donkey Magic that I am always going on about. I can't describe what it is but I surely can tell you what it does. Because it affects me in the same way, time after time. When I am volunteering at the Refuge, as often as not I am doing something physically challenging - usually poop patrol. When I get home I am dirty and tired, and so very, very happy.

Back to my lady at the coffee shop. Her plans include another trip to the Refuge, this time with her hubby who missed the visit with the grandchildren. I thanked her for remembering me and for sharing her story.

Children are our future - the love and respect for animals that we teach them now will ensure that all animals will be properly cared for and that places like our Donkey Refuge will be able to help donkeys long after my time. In a perfect world there would be no need for animal welfare and rescue groups. But, it's not a perfect world...yet.