Maria and Chloe seem to adore one another, and I have come to love our headstrong but affectionate pony. She fits in well here, and having a pony has been an important experience for Maria, and has taught me a great deal about animals. I love Chloe’s kiss in the morning.
Recently, we have come to know a child, a small boy, who is so much like a pony. He is affectionate, empathetic, strong-willed, full of presence and personality. He is an animal lover. Maria and I both had the same idea almost at the same time: would Chloe be better off with this young man – his family loves horses and knows them well than with us?
This is always a profound moment in the life of any animal lover. Some people believe it is almost heretic to give a loved animal to others, but I have done it a number of times in my life – Homer, Clementine, Pearl – and I see it as an act of the purest love. If you can give an animal you love something better than you can offer, it is the most selfless thing to do.
This is just an idea, not a reality.
We mentioned the idea to the boy’s mother and she will discuss it with his father. She wants to meet Chloe. We said we both see this boy growing up with Chloe, who has long trained children to ride and who has a gentle and forgiving disposition. She can be stubborn, but so can this quite wonderful young man. They would be a perfect match.
Maria loves Chloe and wishes her to have the best possible life.
She thought she would ride the pony, but that has not happened. Maria’s life has changed radically since we got Chloe, she is up to her neck in work and creativity and her business and her new friendships and interests. She doesn’t have as much time as she once did.
In February she is going to India to teach the victims of sex trafficking how to make her popular potholders and other fiber arts so they can earn a living in Kolkata (Calcutta). This will change her life even further.
Maria will write about this herself if and when this happens or something like it happens, or nothing happens. I don’t speak for her. We love Chloe and she is very welcome to be here and live here. We are always open to new experience.
It is just an idea, and sometimes ideas open doors, if they are meant to be, then they happen. If not, they don’t.
We both love animals very much. We always ask ourselves if we are giving them the lives they deserve. It is always hard to separate what we need from what they need. It is always worthwhile to try.