Wild Burros of Arizona

by Raymond B.
(Arizona, USA)

I live in the deserts of the American Southwest and find the vistas of sunrise or sunset uplifting, even when I have experienced a blue day. Depression can be a medical condition marked by the inability of the sufferer to experience the joys life can bring.

It can happen because of an event like a loss or grief, stress or even boredom. I have been affected by this condition since I lost my beautiful wife, almost three years ago now.

When I experience depression, and it lasts more than a few hours, I stop and ask myself what is the funk, and what is the funky cure. If I notice I'm depressed because I'm bored, I just go out for a walk and enjoy a sunset. And if it happens because I miss my wife, I call a friend and go visit the "burros" and feed them some carrots. I enjoy these creatures for they are able to survive nearly anything and they remind me that I can survive my loss and be happy again... I feel as if the weight gets lifted from my shoulders... I enjoy Mother Nature and these funny looking creatures.

In the deserts of the American Southwest lives this creature; so silly it is majestic; so short it looks like an awkward horse. And so cute with those short ears and a mouth full of huge teeth. The burro runs wild here... and they remind me of the freedom I have to choose my moods and my path.

And the burro can stand long hours, a half smile on its long face waiting for the camera to snap a photo of a tourist standing by its side, or the tourist's children sitting in a cart it will never stubbornly pull. It has short ears, a bay too joyful, and never long enough. Like a laugh, the noise it makes cannot but bring a laugh to any hearing. Burros do make me laugh!

This is the American burro -or donkey so to say; an animal mistaken as half horse, and half mule. Yet is neither one nor the other. It is just the “burro” and it roams the streets of my town.

When I feel blue for more than one day I contact the Arizona State forest service and request information on how I might help capture and protect these wild burros. Or how I might help maintain the burros so humanly captured in good health.

And the great joy, that can clear any cloudy day, is the pamphlet they mail to you explaining how you can adopt a burro yourself.

Imagine adopting a new family member with that cute face... a bay so begging, and a grin to sweet. A burro is someone to love, to care for, a living creature, a being to adopt. The passing of the clouds on my rainy day is proof that a burro can make you laugh. I feel happy taking care of burros. Maybe burros should be man's best friend -no pun intended for dog lovers!