Is That A Donkey Or A Big Dog?

I know what you are probably thinking "How can this guy not be able to tell the difference between a donkey and a dog?" Well I can tell the difference, but after spending the weekend helping my dad around the barn, I began to wonder. Let me introduce you to my dad's  donkey named Charlie Brown (yes that is Charlie in the picture). I spent part of the weekend helping my dad groom Charlie.

I normally am considered more of a city boy, but at times I can be a lot more country than most would imagine. And normally spending a weekend grooming a donkey would not be anything to write about, but this was actually funny. See, Charlie is not a donkey used for plowing the fields nor he is not a show donkey. He is actually just a somewhat large backyard pet (if your backyard is 10+ acres).

At times I would even say he thinks he is man’s best friend over a dog. He knows the sound of the 4-wheeler and runs to the barn when dad is going over to feed him, if he sees mom or dad outside he will start “talking” to them. He is just a big lap dog in some ways!

He is an extremely lovable pet that has been a part of the family for as long as I can remember. You can walk up to him in the barn and at times he will just lay his head on your shoulder. To show you what a lap dog he can be, this weekend while I was helping dad groom him, he decided he just wanted to lie down on dad. Dad was working on his hooves and Charlie just leaned up against him, which he usually does. However, this time he started to fall over a little more, almost knocking my dad down and almost falling in his lap! It was a sight and a half (thankfully I was there to keep Charlie from completely lying down).

We have had several horses and mules over the years, and all of them have been big backyard pets. But I don’t think any of them are as much of a “big baby” as Charlie (even though he is probably pushing 25-30 years old).