Roller coaster

This month we lost our one-year-old donkey Chip to what is believed to have been a genetic heart problem. This was undoubtedly the lowest point in the brief history of our sanctuary. The pain we all felt was overwhelming. We like to say that we give our residents their best life and here we were mourning the passing of a year-old donkey who was in our care. On the same day of Chip’s passing, we were interviewed by a local news station on our sanctuary. The timing was coincidental since the interview had been previously scheduled. But here we were, on the local news and receiving the exposure we have been hoping for. It was the most exciting thing that has happened in our brief history. Same day, two opposite ends of emotions. The definition of emotional roller coaster is a situation or experience that alternates between making you feel excited, exhilarated, or happy and making you feel sad, disappointed, or desperate. And that was our day in a nutshell. We all have days like this, it is life and I get that. Most of us have mourned the death of a beloved pet and know how emotionally depressing that is. And we have all felt the euphoria of getting the recognition for doing something nice for others. Life comes with high and lows, but when those extremes come only a few hours apart it can really make you stop and think. We are blessed to care for these amazing souls, and it hurts when we lose one but oddly at the same time it feels good to watch them shine on the news! I was immensely proud of the way the animals behaved while being interviewed, like a proud dad showing off his kids! Yes, life can be a roller coaster and while I enjoy the amusement ride, I am not a fan of the emotional ones. Emotionally, I am more of a merry go round kind of guy.