The St. John’s School in New York City and Bedlam appeared to have adopted one another, once or twice a year, some kids from the well-known school for challenged young men come up to stay at Pompanuck Farm and visit our farm. None of them have ever seen a donkey, pony, border collie or sheep.

It is a gift to see these young men light up at the sight of animals, talk to them, brush them, ask a million good questions about them. They learned that animals need work, and they learned that the donkeys of the world carry crosses on their back, and they learned about the challenge and responsibility of training dogs.

We were glad to see them, Chloe has stepped into Simon’s friendly shoes, she is happy to receive visitors, be brushed and touched by them, and appreciates every carrot or apple that she can get.

It made us both feel very good to see the farm used in this way, we are getting more and more serious about bringing young people here to see the animals. The boys at St. John’s – it is a residence for boys who need homes as well as a school – are most welcome here. Animals can change lives.

St. John’s school came to my attention because my friend Scott Carrino lived there when it was an orphanage and he had no home to go to.