The Donkey's Midwife

I was on my way back to the clinic when my cell phone rang. The display on the phone in its cradle on my truck dash said "Countryside Veterinary Clinic". That would be Julie, the woman who sat at the front desk and took all my calls. I pushed the button on the spoke of the steering wheel.

"Hi Julie. Whatcha need?"

Her sultry, low alto voice poured out over the speakers in the sound system.

"You mean besides a raise and a new chair?"

I knew Julie was just kidding. She's been like that ever since I'd started working at the clinic. She's not bashful about saying anything to anybody, and she has a great sense of humor. The not bashful part comes in handy when she's calling about an unpaid vet bill or telling a client that he needs to keep his dog on a leash while in the office. Julie doesn't like cleaning up the dog urine from the floor around the potted plants in the office.

She's also a petite little brunette who caught my eye on the first day. Julie doesn't look like much in the scrubs she wears all day, but when she changes to go home, she's pretty sexy in her jeans and tops. I liked Julie from the day we met. She was single, about my age, and if I hadn't been so deep in debt, I'd probably have asked her out right after I'd gotten settled in a little.

"I forgot to ask Rex about your chair, but I'll do that as soon as I get back. As for the raise, I promise as soon as I get mine, I'll talk to Rex about yours."

"Yeah, that's what you always say. I'm not holding my breath. It's Dora Clements again. She wants you to come out and look at Elvira...again."

"She say what's wrong this time?"

"Yeah. Elvira sneezed."

"OK. I'm about half an hour from there. Tell her I'll be there as soon as I can."

}{

"Elvira", was Princess Elvira Elsbeth of Clements Stables, and was a beautiful black Friesian mare owned by Dora Clements. If Elvira had been Dora's only horse, I would have understood her concern, but Dora also owned twenty five other Friesians, one stallion of uncertain breeding named Rex, and a miniature donkey named Sebastian. I didn't think Dora was actually concerned about Elvira because she knew horses very well. Dora was concerned with me and had been since that first call to her stables.

I'd just completed four years of pre-vet that ended with a BS in biology, four years of vet school that gave me a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine, and the eight hour exam that let me register with the State of Tennessee as a practicing vet. All that education had pretty much put me in debt up to my eyeballs, so starting a private practice was something to dream about at night over a beer or two.

Dr. Rex Mason needed another vet and I was happy to get the job. Rex Mason's office was located in Dickson, Tennessee so he did a mix of pets and farm animals. He was getting along in years and didn't like wrestling with cows and horses that would rather be left alone, so I started taking the farm calls. Dora Clements was one of my first.

When I pulled my truck into the lane of Clements Stables I had to stop and look for a while. The house and stable were about a quarter of a mile from the highway, and the white painted board fences went as far as I could see down the highway in both directions. Dora later told me it was only three hundred and twenty acres, but that she'd made an offer on another hundred and sixty that bordered on her property.

There were several horses grazing near the huge plantation style house and their solid black coats and long, wavy manes and tails and fetlocks told me they were Friesians. The stable was even bigger than the house and looked more like a mansion with dormers and two turrets. The house, stable, horses, and all that wood fence told me Dora Clements didn't want for money. At that time, the going price for a mediocre Friesian was in the neighborhood of five thousand, and none of these looked mediocre. I figured the six I was looking at had set her back at least a hundred thousand if not more. I couldn't even guess at the cost of the house and stable.

Dora was standing in the drive to the stable when I drove in and parked my truck. She walked up while I was putting on my rubber wellingtons.

"I thought Doc Mason would come out."

I smiled my best making friends with a client smile.

"Doctor Mason was busy with some pets in the office, so I came out instead. I'm Randy Kingsley"

Dora eyed me suspiciously.

"You look pretty young to be a vet."

"I'm twenty six. That's about the age of most new vets."

"You are a vet and everything, aren't you?"

"Yes. I didn't bring my license with me, but I'm a qualified vet. Dr. Mason wouldn't have sent me out here if I wasn't. He said you like your horses a lot. I like Friesians too. They're beautiful animals and they're great to work with because they tend to be pretty laid-back."

Dora smiled.

"You know about Friesians?"

"Yes, I spent some time in residency with a vet in Lexington. There were several Friesians in the area, so I got to work with them on occasion. Your six look to be in great shape. Why did you call us out?"

"Actually, I have twenty seven horses and a miniature donkey all together. The rest are in the back pasture except for Warlock, Azmodeus, and Rowdy. Warlock and Azmodeus are my studs and Rowdy is my teaser. They each have their own pastures. The reason I needed you is Sebastian. He's my miniature donkey and I think he hurt his leg somehow because he's limping."

Dora led me into the stable then. I figured her horses lived better than a lot of people. The building included an indoor arena about sixty feet square. Along each wall were the standard twelve by twelve stalls, eighteen on one side and fourteen on the other. Also on the wall with fourteen stalls were a tack room and a feed room, and two more stalls, one half as large as the rest and the other using the rest of the space. Dora said the big stall was her maternity ward.

Everything was varnished wood with steel pipe fencing and looked cleaner than my kitchen. The lighting in the stall area was chandeliers hung from the ceiling every ten feet or so. I saw bales of hay piled from the stall ceilings to the actual stable ceiling on both sides. Over each stall was the name of a horse and a hook from which hung a halter. I saw two older men cleaning the stalls.

Dora saw me staring at everything.

"Pretty neat, isn't it?"

"Could I rent one of those stalls? It's nicer than my apartment in town."

She just laughed.

"I didn't want to just build an old barn. I wanted a showplace where I could bring people to see my horses and what they can do. The yearlings sell better if they're in a place like this."

I smiled at her.

"I can imagine they would, but it must have cost a fortune."

"Well, my husband could afford it."

"He must really like horses too then."

Dora frowned.

"No, he hated them. Still does as far as I know. He was only into two things, stock trading and his secretary. That's why I divorced him. He was banging his secretary at his office instead of home banging me."

That statement caught me off guard, but I managed to say I was sorry. Dora grinned.

"I'm not. The settlement is what let me buy this place and build the house and stable. I still have enough left to run it for years even if I don't breed and sell anything."

I thought it was time to get back to the reason for my visit. It was likely I'd have more calls before the day was over.

"Well, it's a beautiful place, Mrs. Clements. Where is Sebastion?"

"Please call me Dora. Mrs. Clements makes me feel like I'm old enough to be your mother. Sebastian is over here in the little stall. He didn't eat his grain or hay this morning."

Donkeys of any size are normally alert and playful. Sebastian looked miserable. He was standing in his stall with his head down and his right front foot raised. He didn't move when I squatted down and touched his leg. It was warm all the way up to his shoulder, warmer than his other front leg, but I couldn't feel any broken bones and there was no cut or abrasion. I scratched Sebastian on the neck and then stood back up.

"Does Sebastian run with the other horses?"

"Yes, I usually let him out with the mares. They seem to like him and he really likes playing with them. He chases them around the pasture sometimes and they run and buck. I figure he's giving them their exercise."

"Well, Sebastian doesn't know he's just a little guy so he tries to play like he's as big as your horses. It looks to me like he might have gotten a little too playful and got himself kicked on the shoulder. Nothing's broken though. He's just sore. I'll give him a shot that will help with the pain. Do you know how much he weighs?"

Sebastian flinched a little when the phenylbutazone went into the vein in his neck, but he didn't try to get away. Dora didn't know his weight, so I'd guessed at a hundred pounds. I stuck around for another half an hour to make sure I'd given him enough. After twenty minutes, Sebastian put his foot down, and five minutes later, he limped over to his feed bin and started to eat. I looked at Dora and smiled.

"Well, that'll last him until tomorrow morning. I'll give you some phenylbutazone paste to give him if he starts limping again. Use the dosage for a hundred pounds and give it to him like you would any worming paste. If you have any liniment around, that'll help too."

Dora rubbed Sebastian on his back.

"Sebastian, you bad little boy, what am I going to do with you?"

Sebastian raised up from his feed bin and nuzzled Doras hand, then went back to eating. She grinned at me.

"Maybe I should get him a girlfriend his size to play with."

I smiled.

"He'd probably like that."

"Well, we'll see. He was given to me by a family who were moving to town. The wife knew I had horses and thought he'd be happy here. I think he is happy, but he's a pain in the butt sometimes. He loves me to death and he'd follow me around all day if I let him."

"Yeah, donkey's are like that. Well, it looks like he's doing fine now, so I'll be going."

"Will you come back tomorrow just to make sure he's OK?"

I said I would, and then walked back to my truck to wash my hands and disinfect my wellingtons before driving back to the clinic.

I did drive back out to Dora's the next day, though I was pretty sure there was no need. Donkeys are a pretty healthy sort and all Sebastian had was a sore shoulder. I'd just pulled up in front of the stable when Dora walked out of the big house and across the drive. Watching Dora walk was fun.

The house and stable were about as far apart as a football field is long, and the drive was a circle between them and made of paving stones. There was a big fountain in the center. I could picture two of Dora's Friesians pulling a carriage around that fountain. I could picture Dora in a fancy dress and sitting in that carriage. I just couldn't picture her wearing what she was that day.

The day before, Dora had worn jeans and a shirt, and both were loose fitting. That day, she wore jeans and a tank top that both fit like they were painted on. Instead of the rubber boots of the day before, she wore red running shoes with socks with pompoms on the heels. The blonde hair she'd had in a pony tail the day before now fell in golden waves over her shoulders.

I'd figured Dora for maybe forty on my first visit. I still figured her for around forty, but those forty years had molded some really fine curves. Her breasts weren't huge, but they were big enough to sway under that tank top. Her hips didn't jiggle but they swayed sensuously when she moved. It wasn't until I followed her into the barn I saw the sexy up and down motion her tight cheeks made when she walked.

We walked to Sebastian's stall, and Dora opened the door. Sebastian trotted out and stuck his head between her legs. Dora laughed.

"He always does this when he sees me. Mama donkeys show affection to their babies by putting their necks on the baby donkey's back. That's a donkey hug and he wants one"

She bent down and put her arms around Sebastian's chest. He chortled a little and almost pushed Dora over. She lifted her leg over his head then and stood up..

"He's fine today except for a little limp. I gave him some of that paste before I fed him, but I don't think he really needed it."

I checked Sebastian's leg and shoulder. They were still a bit warm, but nothing like the day before. I stood up and scratched the base of his tail.

"Yes, he looks like he feels fine. I'd keep him away from the mares for another day though."

"Oh, I won't need to let him in with the mares again. His girlfriend will be here as soon as my guys finish making them their own pasture. She's named Sarah. Sebastian and Sarah -- the names go together well, don't you think? I'll give you a call when she gets here. I want you to come out and make sure she's all right."

Sebastian was my easy house call that week. Farm animals are usually pretty healthy because the farmers keep them that way. Cattle, hogs, and sheep are part of their income, sometimes all of their income, so they keep up their immunizations and are careful with what and how they feed them. Most farmers who raise livestock also do so because they like animals. As a result, most of our calls to farms were to treat pretty serious things.

That week, I treated a brood cow who'd gotten pushed into a barbed wire fence and had a long cut on her shoulder, and another who was having trouble calving. The cow with the cut wasn't hard. It just took a while to get the cut stitched back together since she didn't like me messing around with her. The cow with calving problems was a young heifer with her first calf, and the calf was pretty big. When I got there, the calf's front feet and nose were out, but he was stuck. It took me and Jack Rubes an hour to pull the calf, but when he dropped onto the straw on the floor of the box stall and I pulled away the amniotic sack, he blinked and tried to stand up. After about half an hour of the cow licking him, he made it. He was happily sucking away when I left.

I did get to spend some time in the clinic that week, and while it was nice being inside, in some ways it was more strenuous than being on the farms. On the farms, the farmers were all well aware of what can happen to livestock and usually took things in stride.

At the clinic, most of the patients were family pets, and their owners treated them like they were their own children. I tried to explain to the woman with the obese chihuahua that he wasn't going to live very long if she didn't put him on a diet. She teared up when she answered.

"But Skippy is hungry all the time and he looks so sad when his food bowl is empty."

I tried explaining that dogs are descended from wolves, and wolves in the wild don't usually make a kill every day. In order to survive, they've evolved to gorge any time there's food to eat. Pet dogs don't have a problem finding food, but they still have that instinct to gorge. Their owners always keep food on hand and just like humans who eat too much, they'll gain weight.

I didn't get through to the woman, but I suppose she was doing what most pet owners do. She was applying human thoughts and feelings to her little Skippy. Since the woman was pretty hefty herself, she probably thought Skippy felt just like she did about food.

Mr. Grayley was the same way about his pet cat, Hector. Hector wasn't fat, but he didn't like vets at all and he wasn't shy about showing me. He was due for a rabies shot and as soon as I touched him, Hector hissed and tried to bite me.

Mr. Grayley picked Hector up and stroked his back. Hector stopped hissing and started to purr.

"Hector remembers going to the vet's when he was neutered. Since then, he doesn't like coming here. I can't say as I blame him, though, can you? I mean, having somebody you don't even know clip off your...your testicles."

I thought Hector was just spoiled silly, but I've never been able to convince a pet owner their pet doesn't think like a human. Mr. Grayley held Hector so he couldn't see me, and I gave him his rabies shot. Hector gave me a murderous look and hissed at me again just before they left, though, so maybe he did remember.

It was the Sunday of my weekend to be on call when Dora called again. She sounded excited.

"Doctor Kingsley, Sara got here. Can you come out and make sure she's healthy and doesn't need any shots or anything?"

I had to stop putting on my wellingtons when Dora started across that big drive this time. She had on little shorts and a halter top that obviously didn't have a built in bra. Each step she took caused her breasts to jiggle and sway, and she stopped three times to pull that halter top back up. Like before, I couldn't see her backside, but those shorts looked short enough she'd be showing some cheeks.

Dora was all smiles and giggles when she opened Sebastian's stall door.

"This is Sarah and she's only a year old. Sebastian thinks she's great."

Well, Sebastian thought Sarah was more than great. While we watched, he sniffed under Sarah's tail, and then tried to mount her. Sarah wasn't having any of that, and kicked Sebastian in the chest with both hind hooves.

Dora giggled.

"He's been trying since I put them together, but Sarah's not in season. Sebastian doesn't seem to understand that yet."

"He will after a while. Then they'll just play together until she is. You going to raise miniature donkey's too?"

"I haven't decided yet. I think maybe just one baby to start and we'll see how it goes. I know how Sarah will feel when she comes in season and I wouldn't want to keep her from having the experience."

Dora looked up at me, and smiled a wicked little smile.

"My first time wasn't all that great, but after that the rest were fantastic. I wish somebody was here to make me feel like that again."

Well, I didn't really know what to say, but I sure knew what to think. No, I'm not patting myself on the back because I'm such a hot stud, because I'm not. I'm not tall, I'm not dark, and I'm a helluva long way from handsome. It's just that when Dora thought Rex was coming out, she'd dressed in clothing that didn't reveal anything and didn't even conform to her figure. After that, she dressed in clothes that hugged her like a second skin and at least showed a lot of cleavage. I was pretty sure she didn't dress that way for the horses.

It seemed as if about every week, Dora would call the practice and ask me to come out for some reason or other. Often it was something I knew she was perfectly capable of doing. Other times it was just to look at something or other she didn't like seeing.

I could understand her concern about her horses. I'd never asked what her horses were worth, but I guessed about half a million for the mares and about forty thousand each for Warlock and Asmodeus. The teaser stud and the donkeys were probably about another three thousand all together. It's just that usually her concerns turned out to be nothing and after a few I decided they were just to get me out there.

Julie caught on before I did. She'd call my cell phone and say something like, "it's Dora and she's after you again."

At first, I thought Julie was just joking, but as time went on, I realized she was right.

It was the concerns Dora had and how she talked about them. When Media, a six year old mare foaled, Dora wanted me to check out the foal, or so she said. When I got there, she'd already put the same blue antiseptic I would have used on the cord and the foal was standing and suckling. It took about ten seconds of observation to tell me there was nothing wrong with the little filly. I said as much to Dora. She nodded and then asked one of her seemingly innocent questions I figured were designed to make me think about giving Dora some treatments as well as her horses.