It was a perfect outing for my friend Mabel and me. We haven’t had the opportunity to do much together since she moved from Lake County to Mendocino County and so when I called her she was all for it.
In Hopland, Oscar’s Place Adoption Center and Sanctuary, a nonprofit organization headed by Ron King, a former top media executive, is now approaching its third year. There are 138 donkeys he and his crew have rescued and brought to the sprawling 75 acre sanctuary, tended by nine staff members, four vets, three farriers and 120 volunteers
The donkeys were saved by King and his crew from kill centers. Why do donkeys need saving? Their skins are used to make Chinese medicine!
I rarely get on a soapbox but that makes me sick! The people who make the Chinese medicine need to find a synthetic way to make that medicine and stop the killing of millions of donkeys!
It obviously sickened Ron King enough to start saving what donkeys he could.
This is my second time visiting Oscar’s Place and I wanted to once again see my favorite, Blanche, the 40-plus-year-old white donkey who now resides in the Seniors’ Pasture, and give her as much love as possible. Ron, Mabel and I walked down a gentle slope to her. Nearby was Echo, a youngster who is obsessed with Blanche, sticking to her as if she was his momma, or BFF or his cougar! However, as we were loving on Blanche, Echo just watched, not trying to grab the spotlight. He knows, at her advanced age, Blanche needs all the love she can get.
At one point Blanche stretched her head around to her rump to bite an itch that bothered her. I went over to her and dug in there with the best scratch I could muster. Ron, who is so in tune with all the donkeys, sighed and said softly, “She loves it.” I then gave Blanche a kiss, not knowing if I’ll ever see her again.
Another elder, Norman, came over to me as I rested on a stool. Ron said Norman loves everyone, but I felt a bond with the old boy. He had a snotty nose and I wiped it clean. After that he didn’t leave my side. And I didn’t leave his.
The smell of the donkeys, the dryness of the dirt pastures (a grass diet causes obesity and other problems for donkeys), the puff of dust that arose from their backs as I patted them, the fuzzy ears and big eyes—it all enveloped me. It was quiet with an occasional bray from some donkey wanting attention, plus we were there after feeding time and many were standing around napping.
We went to the large barn where I got to hug 5-week old pint size Charlie Brown. Perfect. Lucy and Charlie Brown! Fluffy with big eyes, he was so trusting and his mother was as well. But when he moved around the corner out of sight from her, she made a beeline to find him. Protective mom.
Both Mabel and I felt the calmness of being around such loving animals. I swear my blood pressure dropped from war-torn highs (damn wars!) to the rate of a sleeping child. Mabel had never been around donkeys (she had Mustang horses years ago) and she fell for them, dreaming of a way her new community could adopt a pair.
We weren’t our usual silly Mabel and Lucy, we were just “feeling the love.” Sounds hokey? Try volunteering at Oscar’s Place and see if you don’t walk out of there, dizzy with love!
Volunteers were everywhere, giving donkeys full on rubs and scratches. If I was a sculptor, I would sculpt a scene under oak trees of a volunteer here, a volunteer there, bent over “their” donkeys, loving them.
My heart just aches as I write this. I didn’t want to leave. I wish I could convince Ron that Oscar’s Place needs an on-site Grandma Ambassador for the donkeys—Me!
What’s a girl to do?…donate and volunteer; make the drive to Hopland again and again. Ron said some people fly in from out-of-state just to volunteer. Nice.
To learn more, visit www.oscarsplace.org
Lucy Llewellyn Byard is currently a columnist for the Record-Bee. To contact her, email lucywgtd@gmail.com
