Further Adventures in Animal Control

A donkey and horse belonging to our neighbors down the hill broke through their fence around sundown this evening - looking for greener grass. The most appealing green grass is always the nearby Marshall Public Golf Course, so they headed for it. These neighbors were out of town so Sarah, Olivia, John and Grace Anne got in the golf cart to pursue the escapees. Another neighbor, Cindy Hayob, who is horse savvy, got a rope and joined in pursuit. They were able to catch the horse; the donkey is people-shy, but would follow the horse. The group proceeded down Watermill Road. Golf cart in the lead followed by the horse being led and the donkey following with John, Olivia and Grace Anne bringing up the rear. We followed in our car with the hazard lights on because hills make the situation a little scary with poor visibility to oncoming traffic. All was going well in the rescue until the four big dogs who live at the home of the runaways came bounding out and barked. The horse refused to go any further and the donkey turned around and headed back toward the golf course again. The procession reversed itself. Some confusion prevailed about where to take the animals. First thought was to take them a half a mile or so to a horse facility closer to town. But the valuable mares there have baby colts, and the behavior of the donkey toward them would be unpredictable. Finally, Cindy decided to take them to a pen behind her house for the time being. At this point the Marshall police arrived to help with traffic control. The round-up crew were joined by Darin and Ben plus some members of the Marshall boys golf team who had just finished a tournament. Life in our part of the country is not boring!