My papa’s donkey died today.

follow along for a moment and i’ll explain.
when my mom went into labor with me, my parents were in a john boat on a pond.
i kid you not
9 months pregnant and she got in a little flat bottom boat.
but it doesn’t surprise me a bit, knowing her. 

on that March day in 1981 my grandparents were having a cookout
and before my mom and dad could leave for the hospital,
my papa insisted she go stand out in the field next to his pregnant horse so that he could get a picture.
I have the photograph to prove it.
and just thinking about that story puts a smile on my face.

It sounds like the beginning of an episode of Dukes of Hazzard or Little House on the prairie,
but it was just the beginning of me.

So around the same time I was making my way into the world,
my papa’s old mare gave birth to a little foal.
And guess what my papa named him?
Robert.
Robert the tiny, nobbly kneed foal.
I have no idea how that particular name seemed appropriate
but that year, my family had a new baby named Melissa and a new horse named Robert.

When Robert was already a grown up horse,
my papa decided that he was lonely and needed a friend.
He happened to hear of a donkey named Horace that needed to be rehomed and thought
that he would be a good candidate for his lonesome Robert.

So the next time I came to visit there is a short, giant earred animal standing in the pasture next to Robert.
I tried to pet him and he bared his teeth at me.
I tried to bribe him with some oats and he eyed me suspiciously.
Horace was nothing like the loveable, doe-eyed, chestnut colored gelding that I was accustomed to.

For years, Horace was a source of amusement for my papa.
He was more than a companion to his horse.
His loud “hee-haw” could be heard from inside their house
and my papa would go out to the pasture and make a fist
and jokingly say “Now Horace, don’t you give me any of your lip”
and Horace would hee-haw back at him.
It was hilarious.
My old army vet grandfather and his back talking donkey.

I don’t even know how many years Horace has lived in my grandparent’s pasture.
a long time.
and two days ago, his back legs just quit working.
paralyzed from the back down.
The vet thinks it was West Nile Virus.
but he was suffering and laying on the ground
and my papa tried for three days to get him to stand up again
and today, with my father’s help, made the difficult decision to have Horace
humanely put down.

They won’t be able to bury him until tomorrow.
A friend with a backhoe is coming over to dig a big enough hole.

and my father called to tell me that Robert is mourning for his lost friend.
He’s just standing in the pasture beside his body
and he won’t leave.
Just stands there.
I can’t help but just well up with tears thinking about it.

Sadness for my papa
and for Robert
but mostly for that mean ol Donkey.
Rest in peace Horace.

~M

Melissa Embrey Jordan