Dear HSNT Just want to let you know the difference Rosa has made in our lives. I have wanted a Jerusalem donkey forever. I used to live near a semi-rural area in California, and first saw one there. After that, I was hooked!! After we moved to Oklahoma ten years ago, I saw them everywhere. I had to have one! But how do I find one that is nice? So many folks out here use them to guard their cattle, and want them to be aggressive. I wanted to be able to scratch ears, feed treats and enjoy my donkey. I wanted a pet. Enter HSNT!!! I saw on their Facebook page that they had several donkeys for adoption. My husband and I grabbed our trailer and drove the 2 1/2 hours to Texas to go donkey shopping! There were several to choose from, but I really have to say Rosa chose us. She came strolling up to say hello. She had been bottle fed as a baby and was an in your pocket sorta girl. Even my husband was hooked! While I was in signing adoption paperwork, Mike stood out in the trailer, in the 100 degree heat, currying her. We loved her. She quickly took over our hearts, and our two horses. She snorts and stomps if strange animals (deer) are on our land. She follows us all over the land as we do chores. If you are outside she is never far away, munching grass. She will come up and get her forehead scratched and nuzzle you, then go back to foraging. I body clipped her and introduced her to my farrier who gives her regular trims and threatens to steal her. But I had no idea what she had in store for me, or how she would bless me. My 82 year old mom is in a local nursing home, suffering from dementia. She had several strokes in 2010 that took most of her memory and garbled her speech. My once bright, articulate mom is now sad, and horribly anxious. She has three herniated discs in her back, a torn rotator cuff in her right shoulder and a partially rebuilt hip from a fall she suffered at another home two years ago. So she is in an unbelievable amount of pain. She cries a lot. I try to cheer her, but pain and confusion take its toll and Im usually not very successful. And now, here it was, her birthday. I usually dread her birthday. She really doesnt need anything, and silly stuff just piles up. But its Mom... There has to be something? But, what? I try to show mom pictures on my phone of recent events and things so she will feel part of things. She loved my chickens when she was home, but never got to see my horses personally. I cant bring her to the house because it causes what is known as a catastrophic reaction to be away from her familiar surroundings. She just freaks out. So my idea was if I cant bring her here, I would take the farm there! But how to do it in a non threatening way, so she wouldnt be intimidated in her wheelchair? I marched out to the corral, and here came Rosa... Ambling over to get her scritches. Hmmm... So last Saturday, I packed up Rosa in the trailer with her treats and her brush. I had purchased an identical stuffed donkey from Amazon, and put a ribbon on its neck. So off the three of us went. Me, Rosa and the stuffed donkey in a lavender gift bag. I prayed the whole time I was driving that Rosa would behave well, people would not keel over in the heat and all would turn out well. My husband, who was supposed to be along to help me, had been called away on an unavoidable errand. Anyone who has ever handled a donk knows how strong they can be in when they are set on something. Would she try to run away? Spook at all the people? Run out into the road? I neednt have worried one whit. My sweet Rosa stepped up to the plate like a real pro. She took treats from the residents. She let them pet her and ooh and ah. But it was how she treated my mom... She was a little hesitant about wheelchairs and walkers, but didnt let that deter her from ministering to the folks. She clopped right up to my moms wheelchair, and stuck out her nose like, Hi! Im Rosa!. My mom stroked her nose and her face. And started crying. Mom went on about how beautiful she was, and how sweet. And then she smiled. And smiled. And smiled. Rosa snorted and Mom laughed! Even covered in donkey snot, she laughed. She stated that she was keeping Rosa in her room and that was that. Her roommate had a fit! I told Mom that cleaning up after her might be a big job, ran to the truck and grabbed the stuffed donkey in the bag. That thing saved me. I loaded Rosa back in the trailer and we went in and had cake. But mom was not about to let go of her stuffed donk. A nurse playfully tried to grab it, and that did not end well. I believe in my heart, that Rosa knew exactly what she was doing. You will never convince me otherwise. She let me lead her around from person to person to person to be loved on. She brought so much joy to the folks. My little, shaggy donkey has a heart of gold as big as all outdoors. And she shares it with anyone who needs a lift. I see many more trips to the home in our future. She definitely has her forever home here with us, for as long as she wants it. I believe if you drive by my place, and see her out foraging for weeds and scrub, if you look at her really close... You will see a halo and wings. K.T.
Posted on: Fri, 28 Nov 2014 23:22:30 +0000
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