For our Kids and Pets Issue, we present this children's story from Baasandbuzzes...
I am Philemon. My name means loving, or one who shows affection. Before I came to Ravenoak Farm, my last owners did not think my name fit. “That’s his name,” they said, “but that is not him.”
I do not blame them. As you know, donkeys are misunderstood. Two little goats named Theo and Percy knew something about that.
They were rejected at birth, so a boy named Jaxon and his family raised them as bottle babies. They learned the sound of human footsteps, the smell of warm milk, and the comfort of being loved when the world made no room for them.
Theo was gentle and thoughtful. Percy was brave and curious.
One day, Theo and Percy had to go back to the herd. But the herd would not befriend them. So Jaxon and his father camped with those little goats at Ravenoak, because all they knew to do was stay close. That night, Theo and Percy slept beneath the hammocks, nuzzling against the backs of Jaxon and his father.
A few days later, Jaxon and his family came to get me from far away in the land of Dallas. I was 14 years old. They brought me to Ravenoak in a trailer.
When I stepped down, Percy walked up first. Theo came close behind him. Nobody rushed. Nobody made a sound. I lowered my head. We touched noses.
In that moment, I knew. These were my goats.
From that day on, we were three. I watched over them. They watched over me.
Jaxon had been looking for an answer for his little goats, and somehow it walked right off a trailer.
Philemon means loving. Theo and Percy knew I was.
Our boy Jaxon and his family brought us together.
Some call Ravenoak a farm. Now, we call it home.
Discover more about Theo, Percy, and Phil the Donkey at www.baasandbuzzes.com.