Jessie, Time is Important...

From Jim: This is Jessie's story, as best as we know it. With rescues, it's always wise to take everything with a grain of salt, but we're pretty sure this is close to how it went. Quite a while back, maybe 7 or 8 years ago, Tawnee rescued a black BLM jenny donk. She had been beaten, after BLM rounded her up and placed her with some folks that were going to use her for packing. When she didn't know how to do that, they beat her. They then dumped her, as she had become somewhat unfriendly-Go figure. Anyway, Tawnee named her Raven, and placed her with a really nice fellow who rescued a few critters, 2 or 3, I think. Another of his saves was Lower Case Jack, a mini gelding, and another story. Well, anyway this fellow called and asked us if we could take Raven, now renamed Jessie, and L.C. Jack, as he was having some health issues. We agreed. We always try to be there for other rescues and sanctuaries. Sadly, this kind man eventually died-Danged cancer. Little Jack was a lovebug from the first day. Minis generally really like our kind. Jessie wanted nothing to do with us. We had been advised to leave her haltered to make it easier to catch her. We don't do that-ever! Not only is it a safety issue, we want our residents to learn to trust us. The only real way to know that is to work with them at liberty. Then you know they've made a choice, not been forced. It only took an hour or two for Jessie to find Jenny, another of our rescued donkeys, and another story. These two became great friends, still are inseparable. They were in our largest turn out and in with some other critters. Jessie would stand back 10 or so feet when we would pet Jenny. Her ears telling us how uncomfortable she was. We offered a turned down hand, but nothing doing. This went on for four years. We never forced her, penned her, chased her, or demanded anything from her. She just lived here, with her friends and got fat and shiny. One day, Jessie decided that we were OK. It was pretty amazing. She just stepped up with Jenny and said, "Pet me too". That's how it's been ever since. We've had Jessie for awhile now. She's 12 or 13, young for a donkey. She'll spend the rest of her days with Home At Last-probably outlive us. And, she'll know she's loved and that not all of our kind are harsh and cruel. What took minutes to do, took years to heal. We think that giving critters all the time they need to get well is just the right thing to do. Desensitizing a young animal, that hasn't had terrible abuse is way different than getting past the fear that comes from mistreatment. Time and patience are called for, and that can mean years. For us, that's OK and sure worth it. Jessie is just a love now. She's at peace and confident. What's that worth? If you ever visit the sanctuary, Jessie will expect a pet or two!