Here’s why I love donkeys. First, as far as jackasses go, they’re the cutest. I think it’s their adorable shaggy ears and their flattering Ringo-esque bangs. And who doesn’t love their ear-splitting braying!
Another reason. I was visiting a national park in southwestern Arizona. It was summertime. Hot. There were posted signs that encouraged visitors to be on the lookout for rattlesnakes, a reptile I have a very unhealthy fear of.
I was checking in with a park ranger at the visitor center, as I always do when a rattlesnake sighting might be on my hiking agenda. He gave me the usual spiel: they’re more afraid of you than you are of them, not true; they don’t want to waste venom on something they can’t eat, don’t care; they only rear their fanged, diamond-shaped head when they’re startled or bothered, two things I never plan on doing; and they’re the gentlemen callers of snakes, they announce themselves — I do think that very mannerly.
He was also a spinner of random rattlesnake yarns, misperceptions and superstitions. Here’s my favorite. Donkeys are good guard animals. They’re territorial and fierce, defending their homestead against predators, which according to my teller-of-tales ranger includes rattlesnakes. Now, I’m clearly not going to hike with a donkey, but the thought that one would potentially stomp a snake into, well, into snake oil was very appealing.
I rarely pass up an opportunity to stoke my donkey adoration. At another national park visitor center I picked up a delightful book by Andy Merrifield, The Wisdom of Donkeys, Finding Tranquility in a Chaotic World.
It is a chronicle of the author’s journey with his sweet, four-legged companion, Gribouille, through the beauty of the South of France. It’s a blend of the author’s personal reflections about life, purpose and meaning as he walks with Gribouille for days around the countryside. He writes, “In the end, if indeed there is an end, encountering donkeys has helped me encounter myself.”
Of all the reasons to love donkeys, taking a walk with one for personal enlightenment is now at the top of my list. The perfect scenario … with a donkey in rattlesnake environment in hopes of mastering my fear … or at least watch this venomous menace get stomped.