After a while, I saw Juan’s hand slowly come out and scratch Simon right below his ears, one of his favorite scratching spots. Simon stood stock still, his lips trembling, as happens when donkeys are content; it’s like a cat purring.
Simon waited, rooted to the ground. Juan rubbed his nose, then asked for some carrots to offer him. He reached out nervously, holding his palm open as we had suggested. Simon gingerly reached over and took the carrot, chewing it thoughtfully and carefully. Juan, still holding Father Joseph’s hand, began stroking Simon along the side of his neck.
Some of the other boys came over; they all petted Simon and gave him their remaining carrots. We then took the group out of Simon’s pasture to the other side of the farmhouse to watch Red herd the sheep. Juan asked if he could stay behind and be with Simon, and one of the counselors agreed to stay behind with him. I said it was fine.
Red and I did our sheepherding-for-visitors show. The boys were mesmerized; none of them had ever seen a dog as responsive or agile as Red, and the idea that he could control the sheep seemed to fascinate them.
At the end of the demonstration, Father Joseph took my arm and walked me out into the yard where I could see Simon and Juan standing at the gate, and he pointed to them.
Juan was standing in front of Simon, his forehead pressing against the contented donkey. Simon and the boy seemed to be lost in their own world, communicating in a powerful and emotional way—a way I could not have imagined just a few months earlier.
“You cannot imagine what a gift this is for Juan,” Father Joseph told me, and then he smiled. “What a compassionate heart your donkey has.”
A NOTE TO THE READER
If you would like to see Simon bray,
we have a video for you online:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdDYQ6bcdow.
By Jon Katz
NONFICTION
Saving Simon
The Second-Chance Dog: A Love Story
The Story of Rose (eBook)
Going Home
Soul of a Dog
Izzy & Lenore
Dog Days
A Good Dog
Katz on Dogs
The Dogs of Bedlam Farm
The New Work of Dogs
A Dog Year
Running to the Mountain
Virtuous Reality
Media Rants
FICTION
Dancing Dogs
Rose in a Storm
Sign Off
Death by Station Wagon
The Family Stalker
The Last Housewife
The Fathers’ Club
Death Row
CHILDREN’S BOOKS
Lenore Finds a Friend
Meet the Dogs of Bedlam Farm
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JON KATZ has written twenty-six books, including works of nonfiction, novels, short stories, and books for children; he is also a photographer. He has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Slate, Rolling Stone, and the AKC Gazette, and has worked for CBS News, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, and The Philadelphia Inquirer. He lives on Bedlam Farm, in upstate New York, with his wife, the artist Maria Wulf, and their dogs, donkeys, barn cats, sheep, and chickens.
www.bedlamfarm.com
Facebook.com/AuthorJonKatz
@katzinbedlam