🦊 Oscar's Place

Visiting a donkey sanctuary, and why donkeys are such special creatures

My mother’s birthday was in March, the first since she passed. The day was as shitty as you’d expect. I tried to do some sort of ritual, but it couldn’t mask the pain. I miss the sound of her voice when I would call on her birthday. I could always hear her smile through the phone.

My own birthday was a week ago. My mom and I share the same birth date, offset by a month. I always liked that. This year, I had absolutely no interest in celebrating, going on a trip, having a bday dinner, etc. But my wife encouraged me to do something, even a little thing, just for me. I thought about it and eventually came up with an idea.

I decided I wanted to visit a donkey sanctuary called Oscar’s Place, which I’ve been donating to for a while. It is a truly wonderful place, like a Disneyland for rescued donkeys, where they get to live for the rest of their long lives (donkeys can live up to the age of forty!), happily ever after.

Oscar’s Place is a two-hour drive away from us, nestled in the remote farm town of Hopland, California. I was amazed at the sheer size of the place—it’s 116 acres, and at the time I visited they had 166 donkeys (!) being cared for. They also have another location, Potter Valley, which is even bigger at 125 acres and currently has 66 donkeys in its care. There is just so much space for these beautiful creatures to live, breathe, play and wander.

Why donkeys are so special

I first became alert to the plight of donkeys through a beautiful short story, The Good Donkey, written by an author who I am lucky to call a friend, Talia Kolluri. I highly recommend reading it, it will tug and rip at your heart strings, taking you on an incredibly journey into the life of a donkey in Gaza.

The more I learned about donkeys, the more I fell in love with them. They are so loving, so intelligent, so kind. It’s worth taking the time to get to know them.

Donkeys are smart, not stubborn. They are highly intelligent creatures with advanced cognitive skills. When they sense danger, instead of immediately taking flight like horses, they stay still and evaluate the situation. If you try to force a donkey to do something they don’t want to do, they will stay still. People misinterpret this as stubbornness, when it’s actually their intelligence at play.

Donkeys do not blindly comply with actions they know might put them in danger. This is more than we can say for humans, who will happily vote for dangerous sociopaths. Who’s the stubborn ass now?

Donkeys have incredible memory. They’ll remember places, animals and people they’ve met even years later. This is what helps them develop such strong bonds with their caretakers, and their fellow donkeys.

Donkeys protect others. In farms, when foxes come for the sheep, donkeys will stand up and fight them off.

Donkeys are highly expressive with their emotions. You can tell how they feel just based on their facial expressions, muscle tension, and most of all, through their eyes.

This is Molly. The moment I met her, I was captivated. There was a warmth in her eyes, an immense depth, as though the whole universe could be seen through them.

I was told that Molly clearly liked me because she nuzzled her nose onto me, which apparently she doesn’t do very often. I gave her my hand and she was licking it, which was all very cute and lovely, until she got a bit carried away and started to chomp 😂 I didn’t mind. She just has so much love to give.

Donkeys are very snuggle-able. They particularly love scratches inside their ear (which they can never reach, lacking fingers and all), and being hugged in a specific way where they can rest their head on you (not all donkeys like this, but those that do absolutely love it.)

It looks awkward, but trust me, that is one happy donkey!

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Sketching donkeys

I took some time to do some life sketching of the donkeys. I always find life drawing difficult, as they never stay put. It is a joyful practice in that you get to really connect with an animal, rather than just drawing a random reference.

The closer I looked, the more clear it became that every donkey was completely different from the others. Not because of their markings, but because of their personality. The way they’d stand, move, play, look and even eat set each one apart from the others.

I was amazed that the caretakers could remember the names of every single donkey among over a hundred. But once you start to get to know a donkey, you understand why.

A donkey you know is one you’ll never forget. (And they won’t forget you, either!)

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Donkeys are born with a death sentence

I write to you today to let you know not just how wonderful donkeys are, but also how dire their situation is for so many of them. Despite their beauty, loyalty, and kindness, donkeys are badly mistreated and widely misunderstood.

Donkeys are brought into Oscar’s sanctuary primarily from two sources: Surrenders, where donkey owners (typically elders) cannot take care of them anymore, and auctions, where all kinds of “donkey dealers” are bidding on them for farm work, breeding, and other taxing duties.

But many donkeys get sold only to be taken across the border to Mexico, where they are auctioned for slaughter and sold by the pound. It’s a horrific practice. Sanctuaries like Oscar’s Place save the donkeys from these terrible lives, and give them a chance to live the lives they deserve.

Please consider donating to Oscar’s Place. Once you’re a donor, you’ll be able to visit the sanctuary and spend time with these wonderful creatures.

Another place to consider donating is Safe Haven for Donkeys, which supports donkeys in Gaza and surrounding areas. I have been donating to them for some time now and can vouch for the wonderful work they do. I get really emotional when I think about those donkeys because they spend their days working so hard under deadly conditions. Day after day, they do their job, and they are ruthlessly loyal to their caretakers.

The donkeys—and the people that care for them—continue to struggle to survive under the horrific conditions imposed by Israel’s genocide in Gaza. When you consider that this onslaught has been ongoing for more than two years (with the occupation itself having begun so many decades ago), it’s hard to imagine how people survive at all.

But under such conditions, donkeys become a lifeline for people. They are resilient, as are the Palestinian people. Without gas, sometimes donkeys are the only way to get food and people around.

Please think of the donkeys, these gentle souls, these precious beings, and consider donating to help make their treks a little easier.

Donkeys take care of people. We need to take care of them.