Last week I started a story about “one of those days.” A day of a bad beginning and a fair ending. I run a few cows up at the ranch in Independence, Texas. I also own a donkey. I don’t really know why, but everybody else is doing it, so I guess I should too. Actually they keep predators away.

In late 2009 during a previous drought I had a good friend named Luann Downey who allowed me to move my donkey to her land in the Todd Mission area near Plantersville.

She needed her property cleared and donkeys make good land clearers. They eat most anything. As time passed her property was cleared and now a water problem has prompted a need to remove the donkey from her land. I left one morning to try to accomplish this feat.

When I arrived at her place the donkey seemed feeble. I know the animal had been well cared for, but she was losing weight. I had forgotten to take feed to coax her into the trailer. I had also forgotten a rope.

The donkey refused to load and after trying to pull her into the trailer with a piece of hay string, she went to kicking and snorting, tearing hair off the front of her legs on the trailer. Suddenly, she fell over on her side with legs extended outward and laid down like a stiff carcass!

Her eyes rolled back in her head and her lips quivered and I actually thought she was dying on me! After about 30 seconds of this moment of chaos she then regained her composure, struggled and stood upright again. I tried to pull her into the trailer again and a second time she did the same thing! She was acting like she was leaving this earth and headed to donkey heaven right before my eyes!

I knew this was not going to work so I let her go and headed out to find some feed. My location was actually near Todd Mission so I had a choice to head north to Plantersville or south to Magnolia. I went north.

When I arrived at the feed store, lo and behold it was closed. Mission failed! I turned around and headed south past my original location and back to Magnolia. As I neared town I received a phone call that there was a problem in my office so I had to re-arrange my day and head back to the office.

An hour and a half later, a bag of feed and a piece of rope and about 50 miles round trip I arrived again to try round two on the donkey.

I gave her some feed, slipped the rope around her head and fashioned a halter. Once again, as I pulled her toward the trailer she pulled the same stunt on me again and fell down with outstretched legs and acted like she was dying. I wish you could have seen her eyes as they rolled back to show only the whites and her lips quivered like a pair of underwear flapping on the clothesline in a cool breeze. This donkey really had me believing she was so weak and feeble that she was dying!

I had no choice as I could not leave her on site so I went to phase two of the rescue operation. I tied her off at the trailer and got my chains out of my truck. Now in case you didn’t know a donkey has a very, very powerful kick.

I saw a former donkey that I owned put a bull on the ground one day when it kicked him in the ribs. There was no way that I was going to get behind this donkey and try to push her into the trailer. I used my chain to fashion a loop over her rear end and stood into my trailer and simultaneously pulled her head and her rear end toward the trailer. 

Now she got stubborn and sunk her heels into the ground and refused to budge. I began to understand that this ol’ gal was not really the weak little thing she had put on to be. I soon began to realize that she had learned to fake her way and that she was becoming a spoiled brat. I think Luann was treating her too well…(But I sure do thank Luann for helping me in my time of need during the drought!)

I could not budge her. I had even considered unhooking the trailer and pushing her in with my truck…but I didn’t. The issue had now become one of brains over brawn. I scrounged around Luann’s property and found some old used wooden pallets and plywood.

I decided that maybe I could drag this donkey into the trailer if she could not get traction on the ground to hold me back, so I built a ramp into the trailer. Lo and behold…it worked! After the donkey realized she could not hold back she finally followed me into the trailer and we made our way to the ranch.

Upon arrival I gave her some water and some more feed and let her go in the pasture. She gingerly made her way across the field and all of a sudden she took off running and kicking up her heels like a kid in a candy store. The old donkey seemed happy! I know now I had been suckered by a donkey! There was really nothing wrong with her!

I was tired and worn out! It had been a long day. I washed up and made my way into Brenham and had a good meal at Purcell’s. As I eased out of town I stopped for coffee and a doughnut at Starbucks.

I took one bite out of my doughnut and dropped it on the floor of my truck. I thought about picking it up and blowing it off under the 10 second rule but…there were too many unknowns on the floor of my truck, especially after dealing with the donkey and feeding cows all day. A miserable ending to a bad day. I didn’t even get to finish my doughnut.

Clifford

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed