Dixie

Dixie is a very special jennet on our farm with a very special story.

When visiting the Black Beauty Ranch satellite location in Mississippi, she entered our lives. We had been approved to adopt two jennies that had been rescued from the Mojave Desert. We had already picked one out and had pretty much decided on the second one when our son Bryan, 15 years old at the time, drew our attention to a jenny that he was petting and hugging right there in the middle of the herd of wild, just off the desert donkeys. He pointed out to us that she had one ear that was permanently "pinned" and a droopy eye. He insisted and insisted that we get her. "She’s ugly, mama" he said "No one will adopt her, she’s got to come home with us!" She was calmly letting him pet her all over and hug on her neck as if she had been born into captivity.

Ellen, the owner of the satellite location, said she had been calling her "North/South" because one ear pointed north and one ear pointed south. She was amazed that all the other donkeys were naturally wary of us moving around inside their pen but "North/South" had chosen Bryan and was calmly following him around and letting him pet and hug on her. Some things are just meant to be. We loaded her up with the other two we had chosen and one that we were delivering and brought her home. On the way home was when we decided on her name. She is registered as "Ain’t Just Whistlin’ Dixie" or just plain "Dixie" for short.

We had only had Dixie home for a week or so when Bryan was carrying a sack of feed to the barn one day. Dixie met him at the gate and started to push at him with her nose because she wanted her pets and hugs. He told her that if she would carry the feed, he would have free hands to pet her and hug her. He put the feed sack over her back. She didn’t even flinch. He told her to "come on" and walked to the feed shed. She walked right next to him the whole way. He unloaded the feed and she acted like this was something she had been doing all her life

Because of her facial deformity, Dixie has special needs. Her ear does not flap when she shakes after a good roll so sand and debris tend to collect in the ear canal. We have to regularly check her ear and keep it clean. Her eye also does not blink normally and has to be kept free of foreign matter.

Even to this day, there is a special bond between Bryan and Dixie. She has accepted all the rest of us, and even accepts strangers, but she looks for "her" Bryan and goes to him first…always. Yes, some things are just meant to be.