Our Resident Lonely Jackass

In 2010, right before I met my husband, I came home from an awards gala all dressed up and into a home I shared with my Labrador retriever, Liberty. Liberty looked a little frazzled and confused; I soon figured out why. I heard a sound in the pasture behind my house that was like a mixture of a foghorn and a scream. Wide-eyed and with Liberty trailing behind me I slid the back door open and stepped out onto the wide back porch. In the crisp night air I saw a light form that I didn't recognize in my north pasture. I decided to investigate further, so in my heels and sequins I navigated through the backyard and rested on the gate as I saw a beautiful Jerusalem donkey staring back at me and gracing me with another bellow. "Well, hello. You're new" was my introduction to him. The next morning, I called my father to ask him if he knew about this mystery jackass. He laughed and said a former employee's father needed a home for him; in his former life he was used as a fair-ride and the old man couldn't take care of him anymore. We had about three horses at this time and my father, who grew up in Neshoba County and rode mules on his parents' farm, wanted to breed him with our mare. We named him AJ The Jackass (that is another story for another day - it involves a disagreement and a former mayor) and from then on he became a kind of mascot of our home. Liberty learned to stay clear of AJ as he didn't care for the canine species. The horses, baffled by this beast, warmed up to his incessant braying.

I started learning a bit about donkeys - they were social and protective. At least they were supposed to me. Many people told me he will keep the snakes and coyotes away. I don't doubt them on the snake issues as we have been fortunate to not have any issues but I personally witnessed his betrayal when a coyote crossed our entire pasture heading to the main pond. As far as I'm concerned he had one job and failed as he watched that coyote the entire way but never stepped a foot nearer to rid us of this nuisance. To be fair, the skinny coyote didn't threaten any of our animals or children. He has befriended every lost animal in our neighborhood from a mini-donkey, lost horses, cows, goats, ducks, and geese. He still doesn't like those canines though.

We've thought about finding him a new home but honestly he has become such a staple in our lives I'm not sure what we would do without him. He welcomes people, lets us know if something is wrong in the pastures, piles up all his poo in nice neat piles ready to be loaded, and he has taught countless children passing our land on the highway about the birds and the bees as he practiced making a mule with our mares. Those are conversations with t-ball parents I can laugh about now but at the time were quite embarrassing. Lets just say he isn't shy.

With all of the horses, cows, and goats now onto new homes, Mr. AJ has been a very lonely jackass. As I have learned well, donkeys are social animals and enjoy companions. So, The Lonely Jack Farm is on the lookout for a friend for AJ. A sheep, a goat, a cow, an alpaca? What will it be? I'm still waiting on that mule to pull our antique doctor's buggy.