{"id":9211,"date":"2026-01-01T01:37:30","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T01:37:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zuschlag.us\/?page_id=9211"},"modified":"2026-01-02T16:04:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T16:04:25","slug":"phoebe","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/zuschlag.us\/?page_id=9211","title":{"rendered":"Phoebe"},"content":{"rendered":"

Phoebe came into my life as a result of tragedy.\u00a0 We had just suffered a dog attack on our sheep flock.\u00a0 I lost 2 rams and 5 ewes in that late night spree, and both the sheriff and the vets said the same things.\u00a0 I needed to get a rifle, and I needed to get a livestock guardian.\u00a0 The rifle was easily procured, but I pondered the livestock guardian for a moment.\u00a0 Training a guard dog took time, and you had to watch it constantly with the sheep, and also make sure it didn\u2019t claim territory to patrol that was beyond your farm (a common occurrence around here with guard dogs).\u00a0\u00a0 Plus, they had to be fed separate rations away from the sheep \u2013 AND most importantly \u2013 they could NOT be pets.\u00a0 Llamas were another option, but they seemed pretty lame and not that effective against predators.\u00a0 Donkeys though, seemed to fit the bill nicely.\u00a0 They\u2019re large, but they eat the same stuff as sheep, they\u2019re very smart, they hate all canids (dogs, wolves, coyotes, foxes) and they\u2019re low maintenance and easily trained.\u00a0 So a donkey it was.\u00a0 Now where to get one?\u00a0 Luckily nearby was a farm owned by a crazy old DuPont heiress.\u00a0 Helen Dixon had a little bit of everything; camels, zebras, exotic cattle, tarpan horses, and running through all of it, a herd of donkeys of all colors and sizes.\u00a0 When I called her up, she said she did have some donkeys for sale, and that I should come out and take a look.<\/p>\n

The very next day found me riding shotgun in her old pick-up truck as she bounced through her fields towards a herd of about 35 donkeys.\u00a0 They all quickly gathered around the truck and stuck their noses through the window to get the cookies she was handing out as treats.\u00a0 \u201cSee anything you like?<\/em>\u201d she asked.\u00a0 Not knowing anything about donkeys, I pointed to the one I thought looked the nicest.\u00a0 \u201cGood choice<\/em>\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019s a young jenny.\u00a0 Two years old.\u00a0 That\u2019s her father over there<\/em> (pointing to mid-sized spotted donkey), but her mother was a Mammoth (as in Mammoth Jackstock), so I image she\u2019ll probably get a bit bigger still.<\/em>\u201d\u00a0 So we agreed upon a price and she said she\u2019d have one of her farm workers deliver her the next day.<\/p>\n

Now this was back in 2000 and I hadn\u2019t built a proper barn.\u00a0 All I had was a small corral area.\u00a0 So I hurried home and hastily built a small little \u2018stall\u201d inside the corral.\u00a0 The thinking was that I could put the donkey in the stall and have the sheep in the corral and they could all get used to each other before I let them out in the pasture.\u00a0 The donkey was delivered and I was a bit taken aback at how tall she was.\u00a0 The farmhand led her into my \u2018stall\u2019 and untied the rope that held her and said \u201chere you are<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 And there I was.\u00a0 I had a donkey.\u00a0 But no idea what to do next.\u00a0 I petted her and gave her some hay and a bucket of water and let her settle in.\u00a0 I realized I was going to have to get her a halter and a lead, and I was going to have to figure out a way to handle her.\u00a0 It was all pretty daunting.\u00a0 The first problem was a name.\u00a0 But Steve, my boyfriend at the time, solved that by informing me that her name was \u201cPhoebe.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhy Phoebe?,\u201d<\/em> I asked.\u00a0 \u201cWell, first because that\u2019s the name of the shepherdess in <\/em>As You Like It.\u00a0 And second, because she looks like a Phoebe.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 And indeed she did.<\/p>\n

The next day I came out to see if I could release Phoebe among the sheep and see how they all would interact.\u00a0 When I got to the corral however, Phoebe had already kicked apart my flimsy \u2018stall\u2019 and was contentedly munching away amongst the sheep.\u00a0 So, no worries about the guardian part.\u00a0 But how to make sure I could handle all 700 lbs of her?\u00a0 She was a big animal, easily over 13 hands (13.2 it turned out).\u00a0 I went to the tack shop and browsed their halters.\u00a0 It was clear with a head as large as Phoebe\u2019s I needed something draft horse sized, but also a little narrower too so it could be fitted around her face.\u00a0\u00a0 A bit of a problem, but I found something that I thought would work and took it home.\u00a0 The big question was – how was I to get it on her?<\/p>\n

Here’s a donkey that has basically run wild in a herd, and her only interaction with people was getting a cookie treat now and then out of a pick-up truck window.\u00a0 I\u2019d been around horses for years, but never had to \u2018break\u2019 an animal and wasn\u2019t sure how to begin with a large donkey.\u00a0 I needn\u2019t have worried.\u00a0 Phoebe was as curious about me as I was about her.\u00a0 She welcomed the attention and was a really quick learner.\u00a0 Within a week, I had her standing at attention for comb outs, letting me lead her around on a halter, and taking her weight off of a hoof when I said \u201clift.<\/em>\u201d\u00a0 When the vet came to check her out he was surprised to hear that she\u2019d come out of Helen Dixon\u2019s herd only a week ago.\u00a0 \u201cHow\u2019d you manage that?<\/em>\u201d he asked in wonder.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t have an answer for him.\u00a0 To this day I\u2019m not sure how or why Phoebe and I got along so well together.\u00a0 But we did.<\/p>\n

That was 25 years ago.\u00a0 Since then Steve and I parted ways, the farm grew, I changed careers, and a lot happened.\u00a0 But through it all Phoebe the donkey and Ceres the cat became the two stalwarts that saw me through the ups and downs of dating, farming, and losing my dad.\u00a0 Phoebe was the one I would confess everything to when I\u2019d come home late at night from yet another disappointing date or challenging day at the office.\u00a0 I\u2019d whisper into her long ears and she\u2019d sigh with understanding.<\/p>\n

She was a super friendly animal and truly loved people.\u00a0 Within a few months I was riding her bareback around the farm (which she tolerated) and she gave donkey rides to every kid who came to the farm (which she loved).\u00a0 Her large size intimidated both children and adults, but her gentle nature soon won them over.\u00a0 She had an outsized personality and absolutely loved the attention.\u00a0 The sheep were tolerated, but people – they were to be sought out.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until Phoebe was 9 years old that she met Keith.\u00a0 But it was love at first sight for both of them.\u00a0 I used to be defensive about this and say that she only liked him more because he was the one who gave her the treats, while I was the one who tied her up when the farrier came.\u00a0 But, you couldn\u2019t deny the bond between them.\u00a0 Keith fussed over her like nothing I\u2019d ever seen.\u00a0 He had his own set of commands for her, and she was constantly checking his pockets for another carrot or apple or store-bought treat.\u00a0 She\u2019d hee-haw across the farm if she saw him in the distance or heard his voice.\u00a0 He even set up a Facebook page for her and gave her a middle name (according to Keith her full name is \u201cPhoebe Lynn Zuschlag.\u201d)<\/p>\n

So life was good with Phoebe.\u00a0 She did her job, she entertained all of our guests, she was always ready to be at our side. \u00a0And she did it all with such a sense of joy and happiness to be alive.\u00a0 It\u2019s always a temptation to ascribe emotions to animals, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s anthropomorphizing to say that she had a twinkle in her eye that clued you in to her joie d\u2019vivre.<\/p>\n

She was a bit bossy and thought she ran the farm, and took this office seriously, but she had plenty of time in her schedule to visit with guests and keep tabs on Keith.<\/p>\n

All was good until this Spring.\u00a0 At age 27, she was slowing down.\u00a0 Her coat had dulled, and her eyes lost her famous sparkle.\u00a0 In June Phoebe didn\u2019t seem quite right.\u00a0 Her playfulness was gone and she lacked her customary eagerness to inspect every new thing.\u00a0 She hung back when before she\u2019d charge ahead.\u00a0 The vets ran all kinds of tests.\u00a0 They quickly ruled out a virus or anything that was communicable.\u00a0 But her blood tests showed anemia.\u00a0 We were prescribed a special diet and the vets expected she would bounce back in short order.\u00a0 But she didn\u2019t.\u00a0 She got worse.\u00a0 She started to get sores on her legs and her face that wouldn\u2019t heal.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t seem in pain, but she clearly was flagging.\u00a0 More bloodwork was ordered\u00a0 and we finally got a definitive diagnosis in July.\u00a0 She had a bone marrow cancer akin to Leukemia and only had a few \u201cT\u201d cells left.\u00a0 There wasn\u2019t much that could be done.\u00a0 She wasn\u2019t in any pain, but sooner or later she\u2019d get an infection that she wouldn\u2019t be able to fight off.\u00a0 While the vets talked around it, it was clear that they were telling us it was time to let her go.\u00a0 We weren\u2019t ready to do so.\u00a0 But we agreed that when she could no longer walk or showed any sign of pain, it would be time to say goodbye.\u00a0 So we waited and hoped that she could enjoy at least some of her remaining time with us.\u00a0 Keith bought every treat he could think of to tempt her and spend as much time as he could with her.\u00a0 We\u2019d sit on the pond bench and Phoebe would stand next to us and together we\u2019d stare at the pond and the fields beyond.<\/p>\n

By mid-August she had no T cells left and no ability to fight off any more infections.\u00a0 She knew and we knew it was time.\u00a0 The vets came and we led Phoebe near to where her final resting spot was to be and said good-bye.<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0 *<\/p>\n

Saying goodbye to someone or something you love is the hardest thing there is in this world.\u00a0 Yet we all must do it.\u00a0 And, if we\u2019re lucky, there will be somebody with us to say those goodbyes.<\/p>\n

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