Be still my heart: A donkey's paradise in Hopland

I had been looking forward to going to Oscar's Place Adoption Center and Sanctuary in Hopland for weeks. The curvy drive over the hill on 175 from Lakeport — not so much.

Yet when I turned into the long dirt road to the sanctuary, my heartbeat slowed down. When I rounded a curve near the house and saw a bunch of baby donkeys and their moms, I melted. I stopped the car and just gazed at them.

Feeling a bit nervous about meeting Ron King, former New York media executive who cofounded the sanctuary with long-time friend and landowner Phil Segway, I found that King, with his wide smile, couldn't have been more welcoming.

My initial thoughts to visiting the sanctuary was not to meet Ron, but to spend time with some of the 94 donkeys, however, Ron IS the donkeys. He, his five workers and his volunteers, all are donkeys. They are extremely kind humans, caring for the animals that were saved from kill pens — a place where donkeys are rounded up to be sold for slaughter, their skins used in the creation of a traditional Chinese medicine, `ejiao'.

Ron led me to a shady openaired shed, where I met little Steph, not quite a month old. Steph came up to me and allowed me to scratch her head and ears. Her mother Dolly was right beside her and she also let me give her a good head rub. I found out quickly that donkeys love their butts rubbed. Oh, do they. They let you start with scratching their head and ears and then quickly take a couple of steps so that you give their butts the rubs they really want.

Once out in the pasture, I met 4-day-old Boo Boo, whose gray and white colored hair was baby soft and silky. She wasn't shy, she let me love on her. Be still my heart.

Ron told me of how careful he is in letting people adopt donkeys. He won't allow them to break up a bonded pair, won't let them be guard animals — they must be pets (although they do naturally guard other animals), they can't be in grass pastures because eating a grass diet causes donkeys to become too heavy and get a fat neck roll, called a `broken crest'. Blanche, a 40-yearold white donkey, has a broken crest. When I asked Ron how long donkeys live, he whispered, “40.” He didn't want Blanch to hear him.

Already a hot morning in the dusty pastures, Ron called out to Patches, a blind donkey, who came toward Ron's voice and then wandered away when he heard my and Hugo Vasquez's voice (Ron's first employee, now an Animal Caregiver). “Too many people,” Ron said as he walked over alone to Patches to give him a rub.

On the way to the pasture where we would meet Viejo, Ron's personal favorite, I asked how Viejo became his favorite. He said, “He's my donkey. Not necessarily because of me…but because he decided. The day he arrived, he walked off the trailer and directly to me. He chose me. He is a perfect donkey. Motivated by love and human companionship.”

When I met the salt/pepper Viejo, Ron put the donkey's head on my shoulder (a very heavy head) and Viejo just sighed as he relaxed into my hug. What could be better than that? Not much.

A little later, we went to see the two draft horses, Sansa and Oatmeal, who were also saved from a Texas kill auction.

Holy smokes!

At the fence stood a giant black Percheron. 2-year-old Sansa, towered over me at 18 hands high (six-feet at her withers, just behind her shoulder).

Inside the pasture, I attempted to take a picture of Sansa but she tried to eat my phone. Ron said. “Sansa doesn't like phones, she wants attention instead.” Okay, weighing one ton, she can have the attention. It's a good thing I'm strong and not afraid of horses, because she gave me a nudge that could've knocked me over.

Oatmeal, the 15-year-old Belgian draft horse, (also VERY big) came over for some love, but she's older, wiser and not so demanding.

“Our mission is that once you are here, we've got you,” said Ron. “We will do everything in our power to make sure that every donkey that comes to Oscar's Place will be safe, healthy and happy for the rest of its life.”

I thought Ron was talking about the donkeys when he said, “…once you are here, we've got you,” but I'm sure he was talking about me, too.

So, what's a girl to do? Volunteer!

Go to the website to learn how to donate or volunteer: https://www.oscarsplace.org/