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Speaker 1: This is Pet Life Radio.

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Speaker 2: Let's talk pets.

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the Human Animal Connection Show, where we believe

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we can communicate with all animals. Join us as we

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explore the thirty three principles and healing methods of the

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Human Animal Connection. As animal lovers, we know that you

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share our commitment to making the world a kinder place

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for all creatures. Together, let's embrace the transformative healing power

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of the Human Animal Connection.

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Speaker 3: Hello everyone, Welcome to the Human Animal Connection Podcast. I'm

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so happy to have Ellie Lax with me. She is

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the author of a couple of books, My Gentle Barn

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and Cow Hug Therapy. So just so happy to have

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Ellie back on. She's been on her show a couple

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of times, and I said, you have to come back

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and tell me about your donkeys, because I know my

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listeners know that I am just gaga when it comes

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to donkeys, and so I know Ellie has so many

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wonderful stories about her life with donkeys. So Ellie, welcome

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to the show.

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Speaker 2: Thank you for having me. I'm so excited about talking

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about donkeys.

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Speaker 3: I know, it's like, yeah, we get to talk about

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our favorite thing, donkeys.

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Speaker 2: Yeah.

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Speaker 3: So, how did you fall in love with donkeys. What's

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your donkey story?

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Speaker 2: Who doesn't love donkeys? I mean, my god, I know

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little muzzle and those giant ears and those huge eyes.

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I mean they're yours. Yeah, caret not love donkeys. But

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we got our very first donkey in two thousand and three.

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So I started the Gentle Barn in my little half

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acre backyard, but then four years later moved to our

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main location here in Los Angeles, California, which is five

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acres and it's where people come to visit on Sundays

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and we do private tours and school field trips, and

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we have lots and lots of hurting humans come to

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find solace and sanctuary with our animals here at the

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Gentle Barn. And we had horses and cows, chickens, goats, sheep, pigs.

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And I met a man who had a donkey sanctuary

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and he invited us out to go see it. I

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think that he has since moved to Hatchebee, but at

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that time he was in Lancaster and it was a

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little donkey rescue and we went on in a very

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blustery day. I mean the wind was roaring so fast

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and so loud we could barely hear each other. And

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I got out of the car, thinking, oh my god,

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it's gonna be miserable because the weather was so bad.

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But the minute we entered the pasture of donkeys, the

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cuteness took over. It was as if the wind stopped,

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and all of a sudden it became this magical experience,

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surrounded by donkeys, all shapes and sizes, all different shades

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of gray to very dark dark gray, almost brown, and

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I was in heaven.

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Speaker 3: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: Well, I started asking this man as he tored us

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around about the various stories and what the donkeys had

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been through, and we met one particular donkey. His name

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is Addison, and he proceeded to tell us this horrendous

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story about two brother donkeys who were forced to pull rocks,

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do excavation and manual, hard labor for this guy. And

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if you don't know, you could twirl a rope around

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and spook a horse to move forward, which isn't the

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nicest thing in the world, but I mean, people do

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that to get them to move. You can't do that

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same thing with donkeys. When donkeys are hit or threatened,

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they freeze. And I mean this man, so this man

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wanted them to pull heavy things and do hard manual labor.

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The donkeys froze because it was way too heavy for them.

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The man proceeded to beat them, and the more he

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beat them, the more they froze, and the more they froze,

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the more he beat them, until he almost beat them

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from it with an inch of their lives. Anne was

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subsequently arrested and thrown in jail, and the donkeys were

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then brought to the donkey sanctuary. Addison's sibling was beat

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so bad that he had no will to live, and

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he actually passed away, leaving Addison at this donkey sanctuary

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to heal his wounds and to physically recuperate. Once he

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had recovered physically, Addison had a very deep seated fear

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of humans, and so he huddled with the other donkeys.

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He was in a deep depression from the loss of

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his brother and from all that had been through, and

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he kind of stayed on his own, stayed to himself.

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And when the man learned of what we did at

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the Gentle Barn, he said, you know, maybe you should

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take Addison home. We've healed him physically, but maybe you

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could take him the rest of the way and heal

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him emotionally, and I was thrilled at that prospect. His

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story broke my heart. His face just melted me. And

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if there was anything we can could do for Addison,

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I would be honored. It was a privilege. And so

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we brought Addison home, and it took another almost two

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years to be able to even touch him. He was

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so scared and so at the Gentle Barn, we have

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a protocol with terrified animals that instead of trying to

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touch them, trying to hold them, trying to get near them,

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which only makes them more defensive, we back off and

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almost borderline ignore them completely, and we lavish attention and

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care on the other animals so that terrified animal can

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see that we are trustworthy. And so for almost a

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year and a half we groomed the other horses and

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brushed the other horses, and gave the other horses carrots

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and played with them, and Addison watched. And then eventually

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Addison saw that we were trustworthy, that we didn't lose

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our temper, that we would never hit him, and he

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finally allowed us to pet him. Wow, and that was

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the beginning. We have a beautiful friendship. I came to

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find out that Addison loves to be stroked on his

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forehead and he loves his ears to be rubbed. Yes,

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And around the same time that we took Addison in,

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we also rescued a miniature horse from severe, severe abuse,

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and the two had a lot in common, Yeah, their

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shared hatred and fear of humans and their torture that

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they had been through. So they bonded immediately, and so

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much so that they shared a bedroom and the two

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of them were inseparable. This really cute, tiny little black

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miniature horse and this adorable fuzzy gray donkey. They played

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tug a war, they chased each other like puppy dogs.

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They wrestled and played, and they had a beautiful friendship.

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And a few years ago, bonds I passed away. He

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got very, very sick and passed away, and Addison has

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not been the same. Yeah, I'm imagining that it triggered

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a lot of loss and grief from his original trauma

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losing his brother and then just his bond and his

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friendship and his love of life with Bonzai. Now he

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has to grieve two losses. And so we tried so

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hard over the last several years since Bonzi passed away,

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to get. We got three girl donkeys, thinking that would

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pull him forward, and he just never really bonded with them.

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And then we got another male miniature horse, thinking maybe

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they could have a friendship, and it just didn't work.

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And so now he's content to be in the horse

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yard with the other horses, but he really hasn't bonded

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with anyone special, and what he really wants is to

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be taken for walks. And so my promise to Addison

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is that he will be taken on an adventure every

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single day, because that's the thing that he lives for,

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that's the thing that fills him with joy. And sometimes

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we just meander around the property as he munches grass

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and pulls leaves off trees. Other times he leads me

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through the wash on kind of wildly adventured through the neighborhood.

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When the weather warms up, I want to load him

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into a trailer and take him to Vasquez Rocks, which

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is a very famous beautiful scenic place here near the

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Gentle Barn, where we can go the Vasque haz Rocks.

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They're like deep red, beautiful, beautiful rocks and as a

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matter of fact, they were featured in a lot of

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Star Wars and Star Trek movies and old westerns, and

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so I want to take them there. I want to

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start finding places to take Addison so he can see

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the world, he can feel special, and he can have

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these adventures because really that's what he's living for.

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Speaker 3: Yeah. Well, the bond donkey bond is so deep and profound,

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and you know, it's one of the reasons why we

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do therapy work with donkeys is to show people what

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the bond looks like viscerally, you know, because when they

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do have a bonded pair, like they eat together, they

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look up to see what's going on together. They move

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this way, they move that way. They it's like some

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kind of in synctness that is beyond work words obviously literally,

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you know, the way they just function as a unit,

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and it's it's so beautiful to watch. I know, in

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Switzerland there's a law you can't have a single donkey,

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you have to have two, you know, so some countries

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understand this.

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Speaker 2: Oh that's beautiful.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, it's so profound to see how deep it is.

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And then of course it's so horrible when you've got

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a bonded pair and one passes and it's not easy

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to replace. It's like, you can't just go get another one.

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Let's go to the store and get another donkey. It

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doesn't work. I don't know what it is about. We're

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very lucky. The two we adopted. We adopted because they

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were a bonded pair and we didn't know it at

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the time when we adopted them, and we found out

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only a couple months later that they are mother and daughter.

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We didn't know that. And it's just so beautiful to

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watch the dynamics, and you know, sometimes they'll have a

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little bicker, but a bicker is three seconds long, you know, right,

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you know, like which one and that's over and they're

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back to eating out of the same ball. It's so sweet.

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I mean, I think that donkeys as therapeutic partners has

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is something that I know you are committed to. I'm

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committed to. We want to educate the world about how

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special donkey all animals are special. That it's not like

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a rating thing or anything, but there's something about donkey

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sweetness and donkey presence that's just priceless. I don't know,

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what do you think. What is it about donkeys that

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that's so magnificent? What do you feel well and I

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think that they look magical. They're like some kind of mythical,

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magical creature that I feel like we as humans shouldn't

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even get used to what they look like.

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Speaker 2: Like every time we see a donkey, or for that matter,

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every single animal, we should be in awe, like we've

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just discovered a unicorn. Yeah, but also it's their very gentle,

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sweet kind nature. You know, at the Gentle Barn, we

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have thirteen different species of the animals, and for the

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most part, it is very laborious to produce a new

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member into the family because horses will fight and kick

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and bite, and pigs will bite rip each other's ears off,

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and chickens karate chop each other like all animals are

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kind of designed to protect their family and ostracize newcomers.

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And I thought at the Gentle Barn that the only

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exception from that was cows. You can introduce cows to

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each other any day of the week, anywhere, and they

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will instantaneously accept each other. And I thought that that

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was the exception, But I just recently learned that donkeys.

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Speaker 3: Are the exception too.

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Speaker 2: Wow. So we just transported two male donkeys from Missouri

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to our California gentle barn.

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Speaker 3: Wow.

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Speaker 2: And we also brought two horses. The horses took next

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close to four months to acclimate to each other, and

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we just recently took down the divider and allowed them

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to be one big equine family. That keys were family.

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The very next day after their arrival. Wow. So Chance

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and Remy are the two Missouri donkeys. We brought Addison

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right over to them because he's the elder. They touched noses.

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We put Addison in the pasture and they scampered off together.

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And then the very next morning we added the females

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and it was instant family.

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Speaker 3: Wow.

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Speaker 2: There was never any aggression, no violence. They are very docile, gentle, sweet,

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thoughtful creatures. And you know, in our world there's a

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lot of sayings about animals that I have found to

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be very inaccurate, right, like sweating like a pig. Pigs

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don't even sweat. Cows are dumb. That couldn't be farthest

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from the truth. Yeah, there's a lot of things that

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we say that are not true. And one of the

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things that we say is that donkeys are very very stubborn,

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and I would like to say officially that that is

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not true. Donkeys are not stubborn. Donkeys are highly highly

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intuitive and intelligent, and so they're not going to just

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do something because we ask them to. They're not going

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to just go somewhere because we decide we want to

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go them to go.

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Speaker 3: They are going to.

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Speaker 2: Use their intellect and they're going to use their intuition

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and their instincts to decipher for themselves if that is

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a good idea or not. And sometimes they're going to

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put on the brakes because they're using skills that sometimes

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we don't use to our detriment. I determine if going

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down that alley or down that road is a good idea,

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and they know things that we don't know. They know

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that down the road there might be a loose dog,

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or down the road there might be a lot of traffic.

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And I have come at the gentle Barn. Instead of

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trying to tell our donkeys what to do, we follow

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their lead and we take Addison for a walk. We

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are not leading the way he is because they are

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far more intelligent than we are. And I trust themmpletely.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, and that is so beautiful. That's one of the

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reasons why we like to help people who've experienced trauma,

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because one of the things people have experienced trauma have

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often lost their sense of safety and working with donkeys

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because donkeys are absolutely driven to be safe and they

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will do what feels safe. It's not stubbornness, it is

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innate intelligence, as their sense of safety is so refined,

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and to be in the presence of being who without

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any apology, without any whatever, is just like this is safe.

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This is such a good education for people who need

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to reconnect with their sense of safety. And that's one

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of the reasons why donkeys can be great little therapy partners.

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And it was interesting one day I had to go

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to the actually that the dog parade, the shelter parade,

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and I had to get up early in the morning.

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It threw my donkey routine off and I couldn't remember

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if I had given the water or if i'd given

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the water. I turned it off because I had thing

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because I was racing around different and I was in

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the their corral with the water thing, and I made

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a sort of I made half a move like I

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think I made maybe a foot move forward, maybe a

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head moved forward, and they ran from me. Because I

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was in this stress state, I had to come I

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had left the house. I had to come back to

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make sure that the water wasn't running, or it wasn't

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the thing wasn't empty.

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Speaker 2: You know.

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Speaker 3: So I was in this whole stressy energy and they

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wanted nothing to do with me, Whereas you know, fifteen

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minutes earlier, they were my best friends and I was

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feeding them and everything, and I'm the same person wearing

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the same clothes. But they could tell that my energy

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was nothing that they wanted anything to do with. And

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it was such a great lesson for me because I said,

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I got to slow down. I don't care if I'm

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late to the parade and everybody's waiting for me with

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my dog's that I cannot be in this energy because

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look what I just did to my poor little donkeys.

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You know. They forgave me, of course, the why it

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came home for lunch, but it was so it was

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so clear. I wasn't even aware in that moment that

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I was that stressed, but they knew instantly from the slow,

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this little body movement that I was not my usual self.

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Speaker 2: That is amazing, And you know, I really want to

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speak to what you just said, because that is not

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a unique situation. It's really cool in your situation that

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you got that mirror immediately and realized how you were

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coming off and what mirror they were giving you. I mean,

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what is that you actually recognize that? But I want

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to speak to what you just said. Because donkeys live

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low to the ground, connected to Mother Earth from all

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four feet, connected with the trees, the grass, the leaves,

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the sky. They are very zen. They are the prey

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intuitive like I said before, and they live in this

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very kind of zen state. So they're very, very instrumental

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in helping us realize the energy that we're carrying and

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how we're coming across. As you know, we do animal

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therapy here at the Gentle Barn as well, where her

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hubands come and they get to heal with these extraordinary animals.

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And I'll never forget this one session with Addison. There

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was this young teenager. We do a lot of work

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with teenagers, either in drug and alcohol rehab centers, domestic

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violent shelters, homeless shelters, probation camps. A lot of work

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with teenagers because they're on this precipice where if they

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can kind of find themselves and steer towards what they

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want in life, then they will do very well, but

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if they continue down this downward spiral, they're going to

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get back into jail. Yah kind of seal their fate.

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And so I love doing work with them because we

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can make a really big difference and kind of turn

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the trajectory of their lives. And we had this one

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young man who was very fast moving. He was coming across,

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very inauthentic. He was making Joe, he was talking really loud,

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he was kind of trying to be cool and posture

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in front of the other people. He was very inauthentic,

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kind of very not in his body. And there is

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no one on the planet better to mirror that than

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a donkey nah. And we put him in the stall

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with Addison because I was going to show him how

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to brush and groom Addison. And Addison took one look

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at this man and said I'm out. He receded to

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the back of his stall and wanted absolutely nothing to

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do with this guy. And so I took the opportunity

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to relay what Addison was thinking and experiencing and why

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Addison was repelled by the scene. And I invited this

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young person to see if he could take three deep

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breaths in and out become authentic, find his true self

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and really kind of quiet his body, quiet his voice,

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and see what happened. Yes, And I was taking a

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chance because this young person could have very easily said

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no and refee, and then I would have lost the lesson.

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But I'm lucky that day because this man did take

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three deep breasts in and out. He did quiet his language,

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quiet his body, and find his center.

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Speaker 3: And the minute.

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Speaker 2: He did that, Addison returned as fast as possibly could

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up against this person, invited him to stroke his ears

350
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and rub his forehead. This guy was able to brush

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his whole body, even clean his feet, take him for

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a walk, and Addison was right by his side, And

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a very deep lesson was learned that day, the power

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of authenticity, the power of connecting to our true selves.

355
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And for a lot of people, it's a real risk

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to be that authentic and vulnerable, because that the knee,

357
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that tough exterior is sometimes what helps people survive their

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are circumstances, their abuse, and the violence that surrounds them exactly.

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But to become vulnerable in that space with Addison and

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to get that immediate mirror encourage this person to take

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more risks in their own life to become more authentic

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in their own relationships and then get those positive responses

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that only elicit more and more risks. So it was

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a wonderful lesson learned by that man, and it was

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a wonderful lesson taught by Addison.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, what a great teach. Your beautiful story is beautiful.

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We're going to take just a short little break. Don't

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go anywhere, because we're getting right back.

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00:20:48,759 --> 00:20:52,480
Speaker 4: Take a bite out of your competition. Advertise your business

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Speaker 1: Hey friends. If you like what you're hearing and want

381
00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:35,359
to learn more, check out doctor Joseph's book The Human

382
00:21:35,559 --> 00:21:41,720
Animal Connection, Deepening Relationships with animals and ourselves, or visit

383
00:21:41,759 --> 00:21:47,559
the website The Humananimalconnection dot org to book an online consultation.

384
00:21:48,319 --> 00:21:53,000
Thank you for loving animals. Now back to the show.

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Speaker 5: Let's Talk pets on Petlifradio dot com.

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Speaker 3: Welcome back to The Human Animal Connection. I'm your host,

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00:22:06,400 --> 00:22:10,160
Jeanie Joseph, and I'm interviewing Ellie Lax and she is

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the founder of a nonprofit organization, The Gentle Barn, and

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we're hearing wonderful stories about her donkey Addison, who taught

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her so much. And one day she was on a

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walk with Addison with her young daughter. What happened that day, Ellie.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, there's so many wonderful memories that I have with Addison,

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but one of the stories that sticks out when I

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think of him is the day that he saved me

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and my daughter from what could be a really horredous situation.

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When my daughter was little. Her name is Cheyenne. She's

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now nineteen, but at the time I think she was

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I don't know, six seven somewhere in there, and every

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single day we would take our horses and Addison out

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for a long walk. The neighborhood was more open then

401
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than it is now, and so we had access to

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trails that lasted forever, and it rained more then than

403
00:23:01,519 --> 00:23:04,440
it did than it does now, and so the grass

404
00:23:04,440 --> 00:23:08,079
in the springtime was literally knee high. And out on

405
00:23:08,119 --> 00:23:11,640
these trails exercised the horses and at some point stop

406
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so the horses could gobble up this lush, beautiful grass.

407
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And we had so many volunteers that would come and

408
00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:21,359
help us. We got to take our entire horse crew

409
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out on these walks every morning wow, and my daughter

410
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would come with me. Like I mentioned before, Addison's best

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friend was Bonzi, or managed your horse, and Cheyenne would

412
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walk Bonzai. And one day it was a warm day

413
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for spring, and we had wandered a good hour if

414
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not more, away from home, and when we were heading back,

415
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after the horses had and Addison had grazed, Cheyenne said

416
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that she was really, really tired and that she couldn't

417
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walk anymore.

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Speaker 3: And Cheyenne was in that.

419
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Speaker 2: Age group where she still wanted to be held, and

420
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I still held her a lot, but to carry her

421
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on my hip for an hour was not something I

422
00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:07,720
could do anymore. And I explained to Cheyenne that we

423
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were too far away from home and she's too big

424
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now for me to carry her for so long, and

425
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I asked her to summon up her strength and to walk,

426
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so for a good five minutes, she really rallied and

427
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she tried, but after five minutes she just broke down

428
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and she was crying and she was saying she just couldn't.

429
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She was so tired. And I didn't know what to do.

430
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I didn't know if I should call someone at the

431
00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:33,119
Gentle Barn to come find us by car. I didn't

432
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know if I try to put her on my shoulders,

433
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but knew that I would have completely destroyed my back

434
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if I did. And the whole time that I'm trying

435
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to figure this out, Addison is staring at me. He's

436
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staring at me as if he's trying to tell me something.

437
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So I caught his eye and I looked at him

438
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and I said, Addison, do you have an idea? He said,

439
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let me help put.

440
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Speaker 3: Her on my back. Oh.

441
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Speaker 2: And I don't know if Addison was ever ridden prior

442
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to me meeting him, but I knew for sure that

443
00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:07,160
at the General Barn, we never we don't ride our

444
00:25:07,160 --> 00:25:12,000
horses and donkeys. They their time for carrying people is done,

445
00:25:12,240 --> 00:25:14,880
and it's our turn to carry them and after their

446
00:25:14,880 --> 00:25:18,960
rehabilitation to get to retire. Yeah, so you know, I

447
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didn't want to ask him to carry someone when we

448
00:25:21,359 --> 00:25:23,119
had never ridden him before. I didn't know if he

449
00:25:23,160 --> 00:25:25,200
was going to spook or buck or run away with

450
00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:28,279
my daughter like it could be potentially dangerous. I didn't know.

451
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And he looked at me as I was trying to

452
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work that through in my mind, and he said, trust me,

453
00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:37,480
let me know. So I said, are you sure, I mean,

454
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are you sure? And he said, I'm sure. Trust me.

455
00:25:42,119 --> 00:25:44,640
So I picked Jeanne up and put her on his

456
00:25:44,880 --> 00:25:47,160
back and kind of was still holding the lead rope

457
00:25:47,200 --> 00:25:49,480
to make sure that he wasn't going to react negatively.

458
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But of course that was my fear, not my instinct, right,

459
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And he looked at me again and he said, trust me,

460
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I will take good care of her. And he carried

461
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my daughter all the way home, and not just carried her.

462
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He was thoughtful of where he put every single foot,

463
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was careful of every rock that he passed. He was

464
00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:22,319
so cautious and careful and slow, and if she kind

465
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of leaned to one side, he would get he would

466
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kind of get himself back underneath her. He treated her

467
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like his most prized possession.

468
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Speaker 3: And I am so.

469
00:26:34,960 --> 00:26:38,440
Speaker 2: Flooded with deep gratitude for him and what he did

470
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for my daughter that day, and what he did for me,

471
00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:43,640
and the way that he stepped up and cared so

472
00:26:43,839 --> 00:26:47,519
much about her. Yeah, I mean, he is such a

473
00:26:47,640 --> 00:26:49,799
nice guy. I'm so grateful to him.

474
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Speaker 3: Oh, it's such a beautiful story. I mean, such profound

475
00:26:55,359 --> 00:26:59,920
understanding of what was needed, such profound caring for the

476
00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:02,599
experience of being on his back, you know, and even

477
00:27:02,839 --> 00:27:05,319
perhaps never having been ridden or nothing in they kind

478
00:27:05,319 --> 00:27:08,000
of nice way, you know. I mean, but God, it's

479
00:27:08,039 --> 00:27:12,799
such such depth of being this that these donkeys have.

480
00:27:12,839 --> 00:27:16,160
I mean, we poor donkeys. They have really not gotten

481
00:27:16,200 --> 00:27:19,680
respect for history, you know, that people say terrible things

482
00:27:19,720 --> 00:27:23,960
about them and just use them and the capacity. I mean,

483
00:27:24,039 --> 00:27:27,839
it's so beautiful too that some of us are really

484
00:27:28,039 --> 00:27:32,160
wanting to understand who they are as beings. You and

485
00:27:32,200 --> 00:27:34,440
me and a lot of other people listening to us.

486
00:27:34,519 --> 00:27:37,680
I know, there's good folks out there that really care

487
00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:42,599
about treating animals better, and I think donkeys are have

488
00:27:42,680 --> 00:27:44,319
been so misunderstood.

489
00:27:44,599 --> 00:27:48,799
Speaker 2: I couldn't agree more, especially if you look at American history.

490
00:27:48,960 --> 00:27:52,839
I mean, the Gold rush happened because of donkeys, and

491
00:27:52,920 --> 00:27:57,640
I think carried people's packs and tents and clothes and food.

492
00:27:58,319 --> 00:28:01,519
They ushered them down into the mind and back they

493
00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:05,000
carried all the spoils that they found in there along

494
00:28:05,039 --> 00:28:10,759
the rivers. I mean, we owe a debt of gratitude

495
00:28:10,759 --> 00:28:13,920
to these donkeys and how they helped us lay the railroad,

496
00:28:14,319 --> 00:28:16,599
how they helped us migrate from the East coast to

497
00:28:16,640 --> 00:28:21,200
the West coast, how they helped us find gold. Donkeys

498
00:28:21,240 --> 00:28:24,799
have been by our sides till the beginning of since

499
00:28:24,799 --> 00:28:27,720
the beginning of time, I mean Nick's fiddle East and

500
00:28:27,759 --> 00:28:31,119
how they went through deserts on the backs of donkeys.

501
00:28:31,680 --> 00:28:34,000
We owe them a debt of gratitude, and we owe

502
00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:37,640
them kindness, and we owe them respite. And if only

503
00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:39,920
more of us could open our hearts to who they

504
00:28:39,920 --> 00:28:43,000
really are and have them in our back pastures or

505
00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:47,279
our backyards and form these deep, deep relationships that you

506
00:28:47,359 --> 00:28:49,240
and I are lucky enough to share.

507
00:28:49,799 --> 00:28:53,279
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, well, I hope that today we've inspired some

508
00:28:53,359 --> 00:28:56,240
people to do so. Whether if they're not able to

509
00:28:56,240 --> 00:28:58,480
have a donkey in their backyard, if they can't do that,

510
00:28:58,480 --> 00:29:01,240
that's okay, But to find ways that they can help

511
00:29:01,279 --> 00:29:04,599
people who are helping donkeys, sanctuaries, rescues, places like my

512
00:29:04,720 --> 00:29:08,920
gentle barn, the gentle Barn. It's just, you know, one

513
00:29:08,920 --> 00:29:11,680
little thing we could do, one little carrot at a time,

514
00:29:11,839 --> 00:29:15,839
if we could help donkeys, because they deserves it. They

515
00:29:15,880 --> 00:29:19,799
deserve better from humanity than they've They've given so much

516
00:29:20,240 --> 00:29:22,720
and they've asked for so little, and it's time we

517
00:29:22,799 --> 00:29:25,880
gave them some love and respect and care back. So

518
00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:28,839
thank you so much for everything that you do. Elie Lax.

519
00:29:28,839 --> 00:29:31,200
How can people find you and the gentle Barn?

520
00:29:31,559 --> 00:29:33,480
Speaker 2: You know, if you wouldn't mind. I have just a

521
00:29:33,519 --> 00:29:35,279
few donkey fun facts, may I?

522
00:29:35,400 --> 00:29:35,640
Speaker 1: Oh?

523
00:29:35,720 --> 00:29:36,400
Speaker 3: Yes, please?

524
00:29:36,640 --> 00:29:40,400
Speaker 2: Yes? I want to share that donkeys are actually not

525
00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:43,480
related to the horse. They're actually related to the zebra.

526
00:29:43,920 --> 00:29:47,559
And a lot of people think of donkeys like livestock, like, oh, yeah,

527
00:29:47,599 --> 00:29:50,160
they're the same as horses, they're the same as cows. No,

528
00:29:50,599 --> 00:29:53,160
they are related to the zebra, and they are much

529
00:29:53,519 --> 00:30:00,319
a more wild animal than the horse. People have selecttively

530
00:30:00,359 --> 00:30:04,119
bred horses for hundreds of years to be bigger and stronger,

531
00:30:04,240 --> 00:30:07,440
or smaller and more petite, to be faster and lighter,

532
00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:10,720
and so horses are actually very hard to care for

533
00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:14,960
because they're so far away from their original ancestors that

534
00:30:15,200 --> 00:30:18,440
they have very frail legs. You have to trim their

535
00:30:18,480 --> 00:30:21,519
hooves every six weeks. Their teeth have to be floated.

536
00:30:22,480 --> 00:30:25,559
They're kind of not a very strong physical being, and

537
00:30:25,640 --> 00:30:29,119
wequire a lot of upkeep, which nothing against horses. We

538
00:30:29,200 --> 00:30:34,279
have for Gentlebarn, and I deeply love them because donkeys

539
00:30:34,319 --> 00:30:36,640
are a very close relative to the zebra and have

540
00:30:36,839 --> 00:30:40,279
not been selectively bred like the horse. They are much

541
00:30:40,519 --> 00:30:46,599
physically hardier animal. We trim our horses hoofs every six weeks.

542
00:30:46,640 --> 00:30:49,279
We trim the donkey's hoofs every three months.

543
00:30:49,559 --> 00:30:50,240
Speaker 3: Ah.

544
00:30:50,359 --> 00:30:53,920
Speaker 2: We float our horses teeth every year. We check our

545
00:30:53,960 --> 00:30:56,480
donkey's teeth every year, but we only have to do

546
00:30:56,519 --> 00:30:58,200
them every several years.

547
00:30:58,559 --> 00:30:58,960
Speaker 3: Wow.

548
00:30:59,160 --> 00:31:02,599
Speaker 2: Because their teeth are stronger, their hooves are stronger, their

549
00:31:02,720 --> 00:31:09,119
legs are stronger, their whole being is physically a stronger

550
00:31:09,200 --> 00:31:14,079
species because they have not been watered down. They straight

551
00:31:14,119 --> 00:31:17,960
from the zebra, and I think that's also why they

552
00:31:17,960 --> 00:31:21,680
are so highly intuitive and why people mistake their intuition

553
00:31:21,799 --> 00:31:22,680
for being stubborn.

554
00:31:23,880 --> 00:31:24,519
Speaker 3: Fascinating.

555
00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:30,039
Speaker 2: Yeah, donkeys love carrots and oatmeal and molasses cookies, and

556
00:31:30,119 --> 00:31:32,640
Addison even enjoys the beats from her garden.

557
00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:37,000
Speaker 3: Wow. Wow, that's really wonderful. I know my friends the

558
00:31:37,039 --> 00:31:40,039
donkey Rescue, they give their donkeys animal crackers.

559
00:31:40,400 --> 00:31:45,200
Speaker 2: Do you Oh my god, that's so cute. That's a

560
00:31:45,319 --> 00:31:47,960
very big animal crackers for our donkeys.

561
00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:50,680
Speaker 3: And see if they'll love them. Oh, I think they will.

562
00:31:51,079 --> 00:31:53,519
Speaker 2: We have three donkeys at the Gentle Barn. And this

563
00:31:53,599 --> 00:31:58,000
is another amazing story. We have Hope, her daughter Lulu,

564
00:31:58,200 --> 00:32:03,519
and her adopted daughter Rosie. The Hope came from extraordinary abuse.

565
00:32:03,680 --> 00:32:08,279
She was from Mexico where they actually smuggled drugs inside

566
00:32:08,279 --> 00:32:13,319
of her across the border. And then finally that whole

567
00:32:13,599 --> 00:32:17,960
cartel was busted and the donkeys confiscated and brought to

568
00:32:18,279 --> 00:32:24,599
a donkey rescue. And Hope was actually pregnant at the time,

569
00:32:24,640 --> 00:32:27,279
nobody really knew, and so at the donkey rescue, she

570
00:32:27,319 --> 00:32:32,000
gave birth to her daughter, Lulu. Shortly thereafter, the donkey

571
00:32:32,039 --> 00:32:35,519
rescue found a newborn donkey in the dumpster that had

572
00:32:35,559 --> 00:32:40,279
been thrown away, brought this little donkey to Hope, and

573
00:32:40,359 --> 00:32:45,279
Hope adopted her as her own. Hope basically has two daughters, Lulu,

574
00:32:45,319 --> 00:32:51,160
and Rosie, and the Donkey Rescue unfortunately had to close down,

575
00:32:51,279 --> 00:32:53,160
and they found homes for all their horses and all

576
00:32:53,160 --> 00:32:56,240
their donkeys, but they didn't want to separate Hope and

577
00:32:56,279 --> 00:32:59,599
her daughters, and they couldn't find an adopter to take

578
00:32:59,599 --> 00:33:02,039
all three, so they reached out to the Gentle Barn

579
00:33:02,079 --> 00:33:03,599
and they said, is there any way that you could

580
00:33:03,599 --> 00:33:07,359
take all three? And we said, of course. All three

581
00:33:07,400 --> 00:33:12,880
of those donkeys came in and Rosie actually was very

582
00:33:12,960 --> 00:33:15,400
bity and kicky and kind of badly behaved and she

583
00:33:15,519 --> 00:33:17,640
needed to kind of learn how to be a little

584
00:33:17,640 --> 00:33:22,319
bit more respectful. And Hope and Lulu were absolutely terrified,

585
00:33:22,400 --> 00:33:26,400
Hope being the worst. And he said, years showing them

586
00:33:26,400 --> 00:33:29,799
that they could trust us, showing them that they were safe, altered,

587
00:33:29,880 --> 00:33:33,279
training them, lead rope training them, and being able to

588
00:33:33,279 --> 00:33:35,960
brush their bodies and pick their feet and float their cheek.

589
00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:39,480
I mean, it was a long, long process. Finally they

590
00:33:39,480 --> 00:33:43,359
turned into normal donkeys. Yeah, they forgave the past and

591
00:33:43,400 --> 00:33:47,000
they became happy, go lucky donkeys. I remember early on

592
00:33:47,200 --> 00:33:52,000
having a conversation with Hope where I said to her, oh,

593
00:33:52,039 --> 00:33:55,799
when she came into the gentle Barn, Hope's name was mama,

594
00:33:56,039 --> 00:33:59,279
and so early on I had conversations with her saying like,

595
00:33:59,559 --> 00:34:01,759
I know that they called you mama. Are you happy

596
00:34:01,799 --> 00:34:05,440
with that name? And she said, you know that's actually

597
00:34:05,480 --> 00:34:08,760
I'm not. He said, I know that I am a

598
00:34:08,840 --> 00:34:11,679
mom and I love being a mom, but I also

599
00:34:11,719 --> 00:34:13,840
feel like there's so much more to me that has

600
00:34:13,920 --> 00:34:18,039
never been explored. I was young when I was working

601
00:34:18,079 --> 00:34:21,000
for the cartel, I was young when I got pregnant

602
00:34:21,039 --> 00:34:25,599
with my daughter, and I feel like I want to

603
00:34:25,719 --> 00:34:29,639
name that is going to acknowledge that I'm a good mom,

604
00:34:29,880 --> 00:34:33,039
but also acknowledge the other parts of me that I've

605
00:34:33,079 --> 00:34:35,719
never been able to share with the world, my curiosity,

606
00:34:35,840 --> 00:34:40,480
my intuition, my gentleness, my kindness, my maturity. And so

607
00:34:40,599 --> 00:34:43,159
I said okay, and I ran a bunch of different

608
00:34:43,239 --> 00:34:46,119
names by her. Yeah, And she said that she loved

609
00:34:46,159 --> 00:34:47,159
the name Hope.

610
00:34:47,159 --> 00:34:52,920
Speaker 6: Oh, because Hope is going to not harp on her

611
00:34:53,280 --> 00:34:57,280
trauma but light up the road per future.

612
00:34:58,039 --> 00:35:01,039
Speaker 2: And it was such a bright, sparkly name that she

613
00:35:01,159 --> 00:35:03,480
loved it. And so I love she got her name.

614
00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:05,840
Speaker 3: I love it when animals get their right names. And

615
00:35:06,199 --> 00:35:09,039
this is very funny, but the two donkeys we adopted

616
00:35:09,440 --> 00:35:13,400
are now called Rosie and Lily, and their previous names

617
00:35:13,440 --> 00:35:17,760
were Rosie and Lola. But I asked Lola what she wanted,

618
00:35:17,800 --> 00:35:20,119
and she wanted Lily first. We started with miss Lily,

619
00:35:20,159 --> 00:35:23,599
but now we're at Rosie and Lily. That's great, well, wonderful. Well,

620
00:35:23,599 --> 00:35:25,239
how can people get a hold of you to learn

621
00:35:25,280 --> 00:35:28,320
more about your work here, to support your organization? Well,

622
00:35:28,440 --> 00:35:29,199
to learn more.

623
00:35:29,039 --> 00:35:32,639
Speaker 2: About the Gentle Barn are amazing animals and how you

624
00:35:32,639 --> 00:35:35,840
can get involved, please go to Gentlebarn dot org and

625
00:35:35,960 --> 00:35:40,119
find us on all social media platforms by going to

626
00:35:40,320 --> 00:35:43,719
at the Gentle Barn. And to find out more about

627
00:35:43,760 --> 00:35:47,920
me and my animal communication and my personal journey, people

628
00:35:47,960 --> 00:35:50,519
can find me at Ellilax dot com and that's a

629
00:35:50,519 --> 00:35:52,159
way that they can find my books as well.

630
00:35:52,440 --> 00:35:54,840
Speaker 3: That is so wonderful. Well, this has been such a

631
00:35:54,840 --> 00:35:57,480
wonderful time we've spent together, and I think we could

632
00:35:57,480 --> 00:35:59,480
talk about donkeys all day. But what we have to

633
00:35:59,480 --> 00:36:02,079
say of our for you out you've been listening to

634
00:36:02,239 --> 00:36:05,519
the Human Animal Connection. I'm your host, Janie Joseph and

635
00:36:05,599 --> 00:36:09,159
my wonderful, delightful guest, Ellie Lax from the Gentle Farm.

636
00:36:09,599 --> 00:36:10,679
We'll see you again soon.

637
00:36:11,079 --> 00:36:14,039
Speaker 1: Thank you for tuning in to The Human Animal Connection Show.

638
00:36:14,320 --> 00:36:19,480
Please visit our website, The Humananimalconnection dot org. There you

639
00:36:19,519 --> 00:36:23,000
can sign up for our free email newsletter, book a consultation,

640
00:36:23,480 --> 00:36:27,000
or check out our blogs and resources. Our best selling book,

641
00:36:27,239 --> 00:36:31,280
The Human Animal Connection is available on Amazon, and your

642
00:36:31,320 --> 00:36:35,800
donation of any amount keeps our nonprofit organization providing life

643
00:36:35,880 --> 00:36:36,920
changing services.

644
00:36:38,159 --> 00:36:43,239
Speaker 5: Let's Talk Pets every week on demand only on petlifradio

645
00:36:43,519 --> 00:36:59,199
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