Rosie and Francis are getting used to being apart.   It is sad but it is how it has to be.    They both have “jobs to do” and “places to go”  Francis is going to her new home soon so in preparation I have put them in separate pens.   Learning to be apart is not easy for donkey’s.  We used to hear them bray at 2am, 4am, 6am and of course right before we go out to feed around 8am.  But we are making PROGRESS!  Lately they have dropped the 2 am,  4 am and sometime 6am bray!   Sleep is not the only benefit Rockin Roy and I have gained.  The donkey’s welcome MOST humans even without treats in hand.  They halter easily, allow their hoofs to be cleaned and they can be lead somewhere.   At least most of the time! LOL    Another step in the progress direction is I have taken a leap and purposely let them out of their pens.  This is how it goes.  On given day Rosie OR Francis gets to come out for the day and play guard donkey.  And since I don’t want to panic about them leaving and going back to the wild only one donkey gets out at a time.  You see they are joined at the hip and if one stays around the other won’t go far.    Of course the thought crosses my mind perhaps they would not leave Sundog if they were out happily grazing together but I don’t want to find out.   Francis is going to her new home soon and I do not need chaos in my life.  So far this tactic is working EXCEPT  Rosie sometimes does not want to go BACK into her pen at the end of a day of freely grazing and browsing with the goats.  This behavior tests my patience since the goats and Francis go right back into their pens in the evening.  One night I did not have time OR patience with this behavior so Rosie ended up spending the night outside of her pen for the night.   The next morning I found her looking a bit embarrassed huddled next to Francis’s pen and Francis.  She gladly accepted a hug and a treat then allowed me to halter her and lead her into her pen.  After that experience she is thinking twice about evading me at put back time.  Last night she decided to play run away again.  Too bad for her I had plenty of patience and time.   Eventually she came around to my way of thinking.    In time she will see the value of a nice secure place to spend the night and stop this foolish behavior.

  As many of you know I originally I acquired Rosie and Francis to be guard donkeys since we lost a couple of goats to mountain lions last year.  When shopping for a guard donkey they say “Jenny’s” which is a female donkey, are the best for guarding.  Even so one never knows if the donkey you get, Jenny or Jack,  will be well suited for the job.  SO it is amazing to me that Rosie and Francis are actually starting to do their jobs.  This was my original plan and it is working!  Imagine that.  Things going as planned.

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Adios Amigo’s until next post.