“Want a donkey?” Of course!! It never hurts to know people who know people… In this case a family friend had a neighbor who was looking to thin down their herd of donkeys. Naturally, we could not resist, and donkeys serve a great purpose on any ranch, protecting the livestock from stray dogs and coyotes.

We were able to borrow a stock trailer from a good friend and made the trip to what turned out to be an open field… with a BUNCH of donkeys and a few horses to boot. The owner suggested bringing cookies to entice the donkeys to the trailer, which we naturally forgot to bring. Fortunately, they kept a stock of cookies in their truck for just this occasion. On the downside, the folks tending the herd also put out fresh feed and hay earlier the same day… cookies were not much of a help any longer.

The selection was varied, and we set our eyes on a pair (one male, one female) that we thought would do nicely. The donkeys did not share our optimism. They readily, and easily, avoided our best attempts to collect and load. We burned through a lot of cookies in the effort and never really got either one close to the trailer, in the middle of an open field… did I mention that?

As we were growing close to the conclusion that we were going to be unsuccessful in this effort, we finally managed to wrangle a pair (not the original selections) between a fence and the truck/trailer. We used some creative reorganization to confine them and then proceeded to load first the male (younger and smaller) who was none to pleased with us. It did not help that this yearling donkey had never been handled prior to this day. We managed to work him into the back of the trailer and refocused our attention on the female who was quite a bit bigger, and more obstinate. We worked her toward the rear gate of the trailer and with 4 guys around, began attempting to coax her into the trailer while simultaneously preventing the male from climbing back out. Did I mention she was obstinate? She resisted our gentler persuasions. We then obtained a rope which we slung around her backside. Two guys got on her front hooves and two more behind. With a bit more physical coercion, along with a stomped foot and her sitting on one of the helpers. We managed finally to get her loaded and keep the little one in play. In the end, two pretty, dark brown, strip-backed Dunn donkeys loaded and hauled to their new home. Now for the next adventure!