My Donkey Passion     by Janet Mallow

My passion for donkeys began 61 years ago when I was 5 and rode a beach donkey in England, where I was born and raised.  It wasn’t until 1982 that I realized my dream of adopting a donkey and since that time, my husband and I have been guardians of nine donkeys in total.

“Jassie”, our first jennet, came from China Lake, Nevada and was brought to Colorado along with hundreds of others, by veterinarian Dr. Ron Zaidlicz of NOWAH.  The donkeys were to be shot for wandering on a naval station.  We still have Jassie and she is a healthy 32 year old.

Shortly after I adopted Jassie, Dr. Zaidlicz asked if my husband and I would take an “unadoptable’ jack in his mid 30’s and in the most pathetic condition.  Of course, we said “Yes.”  Due to his frail condition the jack was not gelded.  He made good use of his time and a year later Jassie had a jennet foal we named “Joy.”  The jack was gelded soon thereafter!!

Dr. Zaidlicz then brought us Choia, the NOWAH mascot.  Choia had selenium poisoning from the desert and came secretly pregnant.  She produced “Dickens” one day while we were out at the post office.  The selenium poisoning later caused a front hoof to fall off so she wore a prosthetic lower leg and hoof (the first one made in Colorado) for 9 years, until she died at age 18.

In 1998 my husband and I established a donkey adoption network in Conifer because I was getting calls from people wanting a donkey or needing a home for one.  It was through this outreach that I met Kathy Dean who wanted to adopt some homeless donkeys.  We joined forces and Kathy began the Longhopes Donkey Shelter soon thereafter.

Our next acquisition was “Mocha” who was a 16 year old gelding at a BLM auction.  He is now 22 years old.  “Mr. Jiggs” came shortly thereafter.  He was another NOWAH donkey who needed a home because his owner could not provide him proper care.    Mr. Jiggs was too big to be a mini-donkey and too small to be a standard.  He was the dearest creature to everyone he met.  At age 24 he succumbed to liver cancer.  Mocha grieved after Mr. Jiggs died and so we asked Longhopes if it had a special donkey to fill the gap.

Two years ago, Longhopes brought us “Grover.”  Longhopes said that “Grover” is his own donkey and he did not need to have a close friend.  Longhopes was right.  Grover is an independent soul who knows his own mind.  But he also enjoys playing chase with Mocha and doing boy things together.  You would never know he is in his mid-30’s except for his lack of back teeth and his boney frame.  Longhopes rescued Grover from the slaughter truck, so we have no clue as to his previous life.  But we suspect he was abused due to scarring on his rear legs.

Since Grover spent time with the Longhopes’ mascot-Snoopy, he learned a few tricks.  When he wants treats, he stands at the tack room door and bangs on it until his request is granted….several times.  Grover has the appetite of a teenager and never met a food he didn’t like.  Some of his favorites are broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower leaves from our garden.  Because he lacks a good grinding surface we soak all his food or he chokes and that is frightening sight.  Next to eating, Grover’s most important job is guarding us….standing as close to us as possible and following us to the corral gate when we leave in the hope we will take him with us into the house.  He is a people burro and we love him dearly in spite of his quirks.

Each of our donkeys has enriched our lives immeasurably and we cannot think of the time when we are no longer able to care for them.  Our most recent rescue is “Murphy” who is about 4 years old and like a grandchild…he keeps us running!!!