I bought Lulu and Fanny almost 15 years ago, I purchased them as guard animals for the sheep, work donkeys have done for sheep all over the world.

I bought them from a wonderful, mystical breeder of donkeys, she identified her self as a “Jewish Donkey Spiritualist,” words I never thought to hear up in the country. They are diligent guard animals, we have never lost a sheep to a predator, and coyotes live and hunt all around us.

Maria transformed my understanding of donkeys, she and they bonded immediately and have formed one of the deepest and most beautiful relationships I’ve ever seen between people and animals.

Maria’s emotions always rise close to the surface, and the donkeys sense human emotions more keenly than any other animal I know, including dogs. She and the donkeys talk to one another, only not in words, but in feelings and emotions.

My photography has  helped me to see and understand this extraordinary connection, and I hope it helps others as well.