Rocky at noon, eating some grain. I believe we often stereotype animals in the same reflexive way we stereotype people. We are so quick to see animals through our own particular prism that we have lost our ability to see them clearly sometimes and learn from them. Of all the animals I know, Rocky speaks to that the most powerfully. From the first photo of him, he has triggered a wide range of emotions, most of them focused on the care he needs, the pity and concern he engenders, the continuing view of him as neglected,  suffering or needy.

Every time I put a photo up of him, I receive a flood of messages about him. Is he all right? Does he have shelter? I get lists of foods he should eat, foods he shouldn’t eat, questions about his coat, his water, his loneliness, his teeth, diseases he might have, ingredients he might avoid,  his ability to survive by himself in his pasture.

I do understand. I have many of these concerns myself at times, and so does Maria. For many people in America, the abuse and rescue of animals is the big story, the only story. People who do not live in the natural world or near it seek a no-kill paradise for animals. They really think putting them in crates for their lives is humane. People who live around animals look through a different prism. I see and hear it all the time, from Rocky to the Old Sheep. It is as if we think we can spare animals all suffering or reality, even though we cannot do it for ourselves.

It is easy to miss the point of Rocky, I think. Anxieties and concerns to the contrary, there was nothing wrong with him when I first photographed him in front of that fallen barn, and there is nothing wrong with him now. If Rocky was running wild in Montana, people would celebrate his free and healthy life. And there would be no Pole Barn or grain.

I don’t know any animal who lives a more natural life of an animal than Rocky. He has taken care of himself for years, yet few people think he can take care of himself. He has had everything he needs for years, yet almost noone thinks he has what he needs.

For 15 years, Rocky has lived alone in his pasture. He got some hay in the water, was left to forage the grass and shrub in the summer. He goes to the shade side of the barn in the heat,  hugs the barn wall in snow. He has a path to the stream behind the pasture, and downed trees to rub against. He is healthy, mobile, his coat good (thanks in some measure to Maria’s faithful brushing.)

I keep falling into this trap myself. When we take over the farm, his life will get better, I think. Grain, fresh water nearby, a brush-hogged pasture, a Pole Barn for shelter, regular brushing, even vitamins. I think this is arrogance on my part.  I will do these things because Maria and I care for animals in this way. But I ought not forget that his life has been great, he is a prince of the natural world. I wish all animals could have lives as free and good.