Jenny was one of Shelbi Hahn’s first new neighbors when she moved to Virginia with her husband. The sweet donkey belonged to Hahn’s neighbor, and they had an unfathomable bond from the moment they met.
According to Hahn’s statement to The Dodo, “When I first met Jenny, I brought her some carrots and sat on a bench they had, and she came right up to me without hesitation.”
Hahn unexpectedly lost her brother not long after first meeting Jenny. Due to COVID, she was unable to travel home to be with her family, which was extremely challenging to manage.
To occupy herself, she frequently helped her neighbors out by looking after their creatures when they weren’t anywhere near, and that is the point at which she and Jenny truly began to draw near.
Hahn described the experience as “it was like I could sit there and she would lay her head on me and just listen to everything.”
Even though that sounds crazy, she almost would take care of all my pain. She would let out a loud bray, or the loud yell she uses, whenever I would visit her, and it would make me so happy.
She loved me and made me feel at ease, the owners would frequently comment. Every day, Hahn and Jenny’s bond grew stronger.
It wasn’t hard for anyone to see how much they loved one another after they became best friends. Hahn’s brother’s death came a year later, and she had a miscarriage again.
Jenny lost both her pasture mate and one of her owners shortly thereafter. Both of their best friends were suffering greatly and shared their grief.
They were able to find solace in one another and in their friendship, and at that point, the last owner of Jenny made a decision.
According to Hahn, “donkeys don’t usually do well on their own, and her owner is older and wasn’t going to be able to keep up with her and get her another companion, so she asked if I would take her since we bonded over so much and we have a small farm with goats and chickens.”
“Donkeys don’t usually do well on their own.” Jenny was officially accepted into the family by Hahn and her husband right away. Hahn stated, “She’s adjusting well and is very interested in the other animals.”
Every time I kneel down to talk to her, she hugs me and continues to bray when she sees me. I treasure our connection and am incredibly thankful that we were able to stay together through these extremely trying years.