Dr. Faith Burden

So, you know, donkeys have just been judged by the wrong standards, really.

And I'm afraid what we see, you mentioned Eeyore, and you mentioned we've got Donkey and Shrek, and there are lots and lots of other depictions that probably start with Aesop's fables way back when.

And they portray donkeys in that stubborn, slow, stupid way, or pessimistic, at least in the case of Eeyore.

And we've all grown up with that, haven't we?

Yeah, yeah.

We've had that since the cartoon books.

I'm sure some of your listeners will know the Wonky Donkey.

And it's just all of those terrible stereotypes about an ugly donkey that brays and is stupid.

And, you know, we just set the wrong standards.

The Egyptians knew far better the value of donkeys than the Romans.

But sadly, we've somehow lost that in our culture.

Yeah.

So donkeys are really emotional if you know what you're looking for.

So we always say that donkeys are very subtle in their behavior very often.

And a really good example is that donkeys pair bond very strongly.

So a donkey will often have one special companion for its whole life.

And unfortunately, if one half of the pair goes, they will grieve about their lost friend.

But similarly, they can also recognize donkeys that they might have met, you know, years, decades ago, and they can express the joy of being reunited.

And there is nothing more wonderful than a joyful donkey braying, you know, really loudly.

but also just showing that excitement.