Try as I might, I could not come up with an adequate title for this post.
Shortly after we rescued Patrick in March, there were three new donkeys in his place. Not long after that, those people were down to two donkeys.
Both of the remaining donkeys are jennys, and for the last several weeks, I’ve suspected that one of them was pregnant.
Turns out my hunch was right. My jaw dropped when I saw this as I drove home yesterday afternoon:
This is supposed to be a joyous moment.
Those people weren’t there, and honestly, I didn’t feel happy.
Thankfully, mama was very attentive to her baby.
I felt so privileged to watch this magnificent creature stand up for the first time.
I took this picture to get a closer look at mama’s feet. Looks like she’s never been trimmed:
Ironically, that contraption is the backdrop for many of the pictures documenting this baby’s first moments in life.
I’m speechless.
October 18, 2011 at 4:44 am
That wonderful moment should be a reason to do a corral dance. But this two lovley donkeys are at the wrong place to party. So I´m between two minds…. it must be hard to see this every day.
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October 18, 2011 at 4:53 am
The newborn is so so beautiful and precious. The circumstances he or she was born into not. I wish there’s something that could be done so that those people would stop abusing and neglecting these beautiful animals.
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October 18, 2011 at 5:14 am
I can’t bear it.
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October 18, 2011 at 5:18 am
Nice pictures of a sad place
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October 18, 2011 at 5:18 am
Oh, Mama Donkey and Baby Donkey. I wish I could bring you two home with me.
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October 18, 2011 at 6:12 am
😦
We have so much to answer for, as a species…………………..
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October 18, 2011 at 7:50 am
Amen sister.
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October 18, 2011 at 5:04 pm
I couldn’t agree more Vicki.
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October 18, 2011 at 6:15 am
Oh my, I don’t even know what to say. If they put her back to work, does that NOT constitute abuse? Heartbreaking.
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October 18, 2011 at 6:34 pm
Denise,
Please see my reply to Suzanne below. 😦 Please give a hug to your boys from us.
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October 18, 2011 at 10:20 pm
Sadly we can’t make life good and fair for all the animals. I just don’t understand people, I really don’t.
I gave Gunny a hug from you but Harry said he’d rather have something to eat:-)
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October 18, 2011 at 6:16 am
((sigh)) tears…..
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October 18, 2011 at 6:21 am
Is there anything that can be done to help the moma and baby?
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October 18, 2011 at 6:33 pm
Nadine,
Please see my reply to Suzanne below. 😦
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October 18, 2011 at 6:22 am
And you know those people are thinking, “Free donkey!” I feel for you, having to drive by there every day. It must break your heart. And he’s such a cutie, too…I guess they have to grow into those ears.
I have a question that’s been in my mind for a while, regarding hoof trims. How do wild burros and mustangs survive without hoof care? I’d imagine anyone with footing issues doesn’t last very long out there.
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October 18, 2011 at 6:16 pm
Flartus,
You always have the best questions. Don was kind enough to type out this answer for me:
Wild horses and burros self-trim by keeping active and moving around. As an example, sweet Nigel’s hooves are perfectly fine. While we can’t handle him to trim his feet, he has adequate space to run and play, which keeps his feet in good shape. Not a long term solution, but has worked thus far.
Donkeys who are kept in small pens without the ability to scrape their feet on rocks and such, plus protein-rich feeding environments (alfalfa), tend to cause hooves to grow faster than normal. Wild equines aren’t kept in small pens and/or don’t have access to rich feed…
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October 19, 2011 at 6:48 am
Thanks, Don!
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October 18, 2011 at 6:24 am
I’m speechless, too. How sad for that baby knowing where he/she was born. What a beautiful little baby and mom.
It tears all of our hearts out, along with yours Justina.
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October 18, 2011 at 8:01 am
I just don’t know what to say… but maybe invite the governor out to see this, and invite him to watch donkey roping, and maybe he will push to outlaw it. There is no reason to rope donkeys when there are mechanical devices which serve the purpose better.
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October 18, 2011 at 8:51 am
What a beautiful moment to capture on film. Too bad it’s in such an awful place. I can hardly stand to think what the future holds for this new baby.
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October 18, 2011 at 8:55 am
The first step to abuse of any kind to any form of life is to think of that life as an object, a thing. Clearly these folks think this way about their animals. Just things, Heartbreaking.
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October 18, 2011 at 9:03 am
Oh my. Sweet baby and Momma….sad place to live. And you got the blessing of observing such a sweet moment. Sometimes we must take the sweet moments to hold us up during the bad ones. Thanks for sharing this wonder.
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October 18, 2011 at 9:21 am
Dislike. Dislike. Dislike. Very much dislike!
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October 18, 2011 at 9:24 am
Honestly, you can’t print what I’m saying over here. This makes me so angry and sad. I take solace in knowing that that Momma and her baby will have a few days together where love is the only emotion they feel. May God and his angels wrap themselves around these two and keep them safe from harm.
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October 18, 2011 at 9:39 am
My heart just froze. That contraption. That kind of life. So very sad for both of them. There ought to be a law…
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October 18, 2011 at 9:54 am
Oh no. I read this and immediately felt a chill. No baby should be born into such horror. I don’t even want to know where donk #3 went.
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October 18, 2011 at 10:46 am
Ohhhhhhh, Justina…. Noooooo!
I, too, am speechless. 😦
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October 18, 2011 at 10:57 am
I’d like to leave a comment, but like you I’m speechless.
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October 18, 2011 at 11:19 am
I have tears in my eyes and in my heart
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October 18, 2011 at 11:26 am
I have no words today, so I’m just going to focus on the extreme cuteness.
And pretend that mama is nudging her baby towards the fence just to say “Get out now while you can, there is a great place just down the road.”
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October 18, 2011 at 11:41 am
Trying hard to find something positive here. Best I could come up with is that someone cared enough to supply this Jenny with a fly mask. Guess we should be thankful for every small mercy bestowed by those people.
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October 18, 2011 at 11:55 am
We’re out here, even more helpless than you must feel. If you have any ideas at all of action we could take, please let us know. Can we raise money for a roping machine or is there any other alternative for roping? Can we raise money to buy the donkeys for someone who would take care of them? Is there any legislation or anyone in the state we could contact? Are there any organizations we could contact? Are there people in the community that might unite around this issue?
God bless them and watch over the donkeys and this situation.
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October 18, 2011 at 6:26 pm
Suzanne,
Sadly, they already have a roping machine. If we buy the donkeys (I’ll go on record saying I’d personally love to remove these donkeys from their current situation), they’ll just buy more. We saw that happen after we bought Patrick from them.
Long story short… Using donkeys for roping practice is a very culturally accepted practice here in the southwest. We’re currently working with the county government, who has told us that they have to catch these people in the act of roping donkeys to do anything about it. (Believe it or not, while they freely admitted it to Don, these people denied using Patrick for roping practice to the officers that came out. They told the animal control officers that they simply tied Patrick to the contraption every once in a while.) Once the county catches them in the act, they’ll have to get the state livestock board involved… they’ve made it clear that nothing is going to happen overnight by any means.
When I first opened this can of worms several months ago, I wrote to every animal protection-related organization I could think of. Again, sadly, I did not receive one single response. 😦
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October 18, 2011 at 8:37 pm
Thank you for the information. I remember that you had investigated getting help for Patrick. Animal Protection of New Mexico does cover donkeys under their Equine Protection Program, but they are covering so many different types of animals and situations I wonder if they are spread too thin. It also says they have a volunteer program. I was thinking there might be a volunteer or wealthy patron who would have an interest in helping to find out if they have classes or certain training times where this activity could be observed. Can they be videotaped or do the officials have to see it in person? A lot of crappy behavior toward animals is culturally acceptable and I imagine your county may not have a big population which might make it more difficult to get this stopped.
There are many reasons I like visiting Morning Bray, but probably the most important one to me is how loving you and Don are as people and to your critters. I am thankful to know you are out there in the world. I am also a believer in a loving Universe where things work out in ways we didn’t expect or know about. Would you mind giving me the name of this roping place and I will call Unity for prayer. It is very positive and loving, they pray for animals, people or situations. If anyone would like to join with me on this you can call 1-800-669-7729. All they need is your first name and the name of anyone you would like prayer for.
Child’s Prayer
Dear God most high, hear and bless
Thy beasts and singing birds:
And guard with tenderness
Small things that have no words.
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October 19, 2011 at 6:55 am
Suzanne,
It was Animal Protection of New Mexico who specifically told me that, “The roping issue won’t cut it with law enforcement.” They also told me, “…people need to talk to their elected officials to voice their concerns and desire for change.
“We (Animal Protection of New Mexico), are not lawmakers, but we get involved in certain issues – the largest and perhaps most broad issues that affect many people throughout the state.
“With something like what you want to do, you really need to start on a grass-roots level and encourage people to contact their local elected officials to try and change the ordinances. It will be tough….”
I hope you understand that I don’t want to give a specific name for the roping place. Perhaps you can call it the roping place on the road to Morning Bray Farm? Thank you for your beautiful prayer.
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October 19, 2011 at 3:10 pm
Sorry, I wasn’t clear, I knew it wouldn’t be prudent to put the name online and had in my mind that you would email me. But you know, the name doesn’t matter because this is a bigger issue than that one business so I’ll go ahead and call about it. Men and women in my family hunted, I don’t agree with it, but I understand the attitude of the roping place. It’s a matter of changing their perspective and beliefs. Your loving blog does so much in that regard, awakening people near and far to the loving, playful nature of burros and donkeys and their worthiness to be treated with respect. I live in the midwest, but I’ll be on the lookout for any information that might be helpful for you.
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October 19, 2011 at 6:22 pm
Suzanne,
Absolutely no apology necessary. I’ve been so riled up again over this that it didn’t even cross my mind to send you a simple email. 🙂
Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness and kindness… and for being on the lookout. Sending you a hug of gratitude.
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October 21, 2011 at 11:55 am
I had another thought about this. The Croc Hunter used to say that a part of his education was having people see animals and touch them if they could. He said they had more of an emotional investment in protecting them. I thought of children and teenagers and wondered if there were school programs where they could meet and learn about burros and donkeys and see how wonderful they are. They will soon be young adults and able to vote. It would make them think differently about a situation like this. Like I said, I grew up with men and women who hunted and who didn’t love nature and animals the way I did so I understand that some attitudes might not change, but also some would. And you never know when one of them might become a local politician or know one. Just a thought. 🙂
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October 21, 2011 at 7:12 pm
Suzanne,
This is an excellent thought and I’m so glad you brought it up. Educating young people is also something that Jane Goodall advocates through her Roots & Shoots program. I think you’re definitely on to something… thank you!
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October 18, 2011 at 12:24 pm
Suzanne: I agree! What can we do? I’m all the way over here in Oregon but if I can do something, just tell me Justina.
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October 18, 2011 at 6:37 pm
Valerie,
Thank you… For now, I just don’t know what we can do. Please see my reply to Suzanne. 😦
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October 18, 2011 at 1:31 pm
Thank you for documenting and sharing. Beautiful and Heartbreaking. Tragic consequence of a limited mindset. Send your photos to Animal protection, Justina. Just maybe…
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October 18, 2011 at 3:56 pm
Ii’ sure Patrick got some extra hugs today 😦
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October 18, 2011 at 6:37 pm
Bibi,
He did.
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October 18, 2011 at 5:11 pm
My heart hurts so bad. Why did these people care enough to put a fly mask on her, yet feed her crap feed and not trim her hooves AND ROPE HER???? Dear Lord in heaven what is wrong with these people? That dear little baby just makes my heart melt. Start protesting in front of their place and get the news camera’s out there. Maybe they will stop roping to avoid negative publicity. I’d personally like to fly down there and kick the shit out of them, but I don’t want to go to jail.
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October 18, 2011 at 10:01 pm
Would video tape evidence work?
Could a group of angry menopausal women come by at the dead of night and hog tie the cow- wimps and dismantle that $#*\@& ?
I ask cuz I’m volunteering.
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October 19, 2011 at 7:03 am
Winter,
Yes, that’s one of my goals. I have a video camera in my car.
Thank you for volunteering. 🙂 xo
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October 19, 2011 at 8:07 pm
I’ll volunteer too!!! Angry menopausal women are the best!
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October 19, 2011 at 8:17 pm
I love you both!
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