Simon seemed to ease up on Rocky and his existence but when I came back from some chores this afternoon Ben told me he had seen Simon charge Rocky and knock him into the fence. Rocky was off in the corner of his pasture and Simon was still watching him when I took this photo. Ben said he didn’t want to tell me, he thought I might be upset. I was, but glad he told me.

I love my life with animals. I never stop learning from them. In that process, I become better, wiser, different. More patient, I think, and more tolerant.  I reminded myself not to be angry with Simon or frustrated with him as hard as it is to watch him be so aggressive, not something I have ever seen in him before.  I lost my temper with him yesterday and kicked him in the butt, not that he seemed to notice. But there is no reason to be angry with him. That was a break with reason on my part. Simon is just being a donkey, an ass, if you will. True to himself and his nature. Authentic maybe.

Simon is likely protecting Lulu and Fanny, staking his claim on them, as male donkeys do. Female donkeys do not bristle at male domination, they accept it. It is not an insult to them, it is survival. And instinct, the propagation of the breed, central to almost all animals. Rocky is still an intruder, a potential competitor, a threat to Simon. This is what his instincts tell him to do, and it is a difficult thing to change an animal’s instincts.  I love Simon and his idiosyncratic personality. I will never forget his struggle to return to life after his awful suffering. He opened me up. We talk to one another – often and comfortable, exchanging emotions and attention.

A good friend of mine is also an animal communicator and she talked to Simon this afternoon, she said. She said he is jealous, he is angry. He wants Rocky gone, hates that Rocky was here first, and that I am taking so many photos of him and writing about him. He wants to talk with me, he said.  Take some walks. Okay, I said, easy enough.

I love my friend and admire and respect her, but I do not at ease with this view of Simon’s behavior. These are not feelings and emotions I believe exist in the animal consciousness, donkeys or dogs, cats or birds. I know many animal communicators who have wonderful insights into animals, but I think this approach to Simon’s dilemma misses the point. He is not jealous and he is not angry, nor do I have any reason or justification to be angry in return. But I am not. I just don’t believe that Simon knows or cares what photos go up on my blog. Still, I think her advice was sound, her conclusions valid. Pay attention to him and keep him separated for awhile.

Simon is a donkey, driven by the three elemental drives of donkeys – eating, mating, flocking. Simon has been alone with his women for several years, and he is not about to share them or give them up to this old pony. If he had told that to my friend, it would have made more sense to me.

It is always a mistake in my mind to attribute human moral and ethical and emotional values to animals. There are no bad dogs or good dogs, just animals acting like animals. The more we respect them as animals, the better we understand their true motives. The better we can train and live with them.

It is humans who put these labels on them, and project our feelings and words into their heads. Such notions do  not exist in the animal world or in their language.  This is the law of the animal world, stronger males dominating and often attacking older and infirm ones. In the wild, Rocky would most likely be dead of starvation or injury or kicked and bitten to death by animals like Simon. It is only through  human and unnatural intervention that he is alive at all. I admire and love Rocky in much the same way I am attached to Simon. He is stoic, accepting and quite peaceful a creature. This morning, I was thinking the danger to him was over, today I see that is not. It is not comfortable for me to be caught between these two creatures in this way, it will be difficult to solve this animal drama, this puzzle. I will do my best, as will Maria.

In this case, the first order of business is protecting Rocky, who is blind and cannot protect himself. Simon and Lulu and Fanny will stay in the sheep pasture for awhile. In bad weather, we’ll get Rocky into a stall and let the donkeys into the pole barn.

Loving an animal is sometimes a challenge, especially and ironically when they behave like animals. Many an animal – countless dogs – lose their lives when they follow their instincts and behave like dogs – barking, fighting, chewing, smelling.

I have learned much from Simon and Rocky and am grateful to both of them. One thing I am learning is how to love an animal, even when they behave like one.