Words from a Donkey Whisperer

Donkeys are reputed to have been ridden by humans long before they rode horses. Reportedly, donkeys were first brought to the western hemisphere on the second ship of Christopher Columbus. At the end of the 17th century, donkeys migrated to the United States; they were used less; however, their capacity to go far distances without water continued to make donkeys very useful to humans. This was especially true across long desert stretches where no roads existed. As we humans have too often done with our animals, we began to abandon donkeys. Rather than creating a neutering program to prevent an overpopulation of donkeys, we often did nothing.   Here in the Inland Empire- especially in the cities of Moreno Valley, Colton, and Loma Linda- with the increasing drought, donkeys began entering our cities in search of water. Beginning last year, they were labeled as a major nuisance. At one of the Loma Linda City Council meetings, a citizen emphasized her frustration by picking up donkey excrement from her yard, bagging it, and then placing the bags on the desk in front of City Council Members. Some found this horrific; others found it humorous. Nonetheless, it definitely got the attention of each City Council Member. One member disparaged the fact that it is against the law to shoot and kill donkeys. There has been at least one human fatality on a local road, caused by a person in his car hitting a donkey. This further emphasized the challenges all of us are facing with our donkeys. There have also been dozen of donkeys killed by trucks and trains. It’s inadvisable to remove all the donkeys from the hills because of their role in fire abatement. They're grazing of the long, dry grasses provide a valuable service. It’s the long dry grasses that cause hot, fast fires. In northern California it has been shown that where have wild horses grazing, the fires are much more easily put out since low dry grass fires burn more slowly than high, dry grass fires. In light of the millions of dollars in damage fire causes, one expert in northern California estimates that each wild horse is worth about $72,000 in fire abatement. Burrito and Barnabass are two donkeys who impacted me and the scores of my Equine Empowerment classes. I am a certified equine therapist. I prefer to call it “equine empowerment” because therapy suggests something is wrong; everyone is enhanced by “empowerment”. When I was being trained to become such an “empowerer,” I learned that donkeys and horses have unique abilities instantly to know intuitively how you feel. When you are quietly in their presence, their behavior toward you creates transformation. Both Burrito and Barnabass possess tenderness and a sense of humor that are wondrous. I also discovered that Burrito is amazing at teaching boundaries. One of my clients, whom I will call Johnny, was particularly small for his age. At age ten, he repeatedly kept getting into fights in school. Since negative attention is usually preferable to no attention at all, Johnny would provoke fights by going around, and poking bigger kids. One day, when he was with Burrito, Johnny kept poking him. In response, Burrito very gently, yet firmly, took Johnny’s wrist and held it in his mouth. I knew that I could have instantly gotten Burrito to release Johnny’s wrist, but I sensed a teachable moment. I asked Johnny, “Why do you think Burrito is doing that?” “I dunno,” responded Johnny. “What were you doing right before Burrito began to hold your wrist?” I further inquired. “I dunno. I was just sort of poking him,” answered Johnny. “How does that work for you, like at school?” I asked. “Well,” said Johnny, “I usually get into fights.” “What do you think Burrito might be saying to you?” I persisted. “Well, maybe he’s saying that poking is not a good idea,” said Johnny. From that day onward Johnny quit getting into fights in school. Burrito had taught him what no amount of lecturing from adults had been able to accomplish. DonkeyLand, created by donations from “The Price is Right” host Bob Barker, has for years been a sanctuary for donkeys. When the crisis related to donkeys occurred this year, DonkeyLand was amazing in stepping up to provide solutions. Dozens of donkeys were taken to DonkeyLand, and some cities such as Loma Linda paid for additional fencing at DonkeyLand. Originally the donkeys’ nutritional needs were met by grazing. However, the drought has caused the need to supplement the feeding of donkeys with hay. That’s where readers can make a difference. Won’t you suggest helping in this way? You may call Cherry Valley Feed Store at (951) 845-8828 and make a donation to the DonkeyLand account. Another possibility is for you to go to the website and donate that way at www.DonkeyLand.org. A donation of $20, $50, or any other amount can go far toward each of us being able to resolve our donkey crisis in a humane and loving manner.