In the spring of 2011, New York Times bestselling author Jon Katz received a phone call from an animal control officer. During an investigation, she had found a neglected donkey near death at a farm in Washington County, N.Y., and the officer hoped Katz and his wife, Maria, would adopt him. The donkey was emaciated, covered with lice and rat bites, and forced to live in a pen barely big enough to accommodate the donkey’s prone body.
Two years later, this donkey, now named Simon, was greeting visitors at an open house event at the Katz farm.
“They lined up by the hundreds outside of the big barn to come inside and touch Simon, hug him, give him carrots and cookies, and pepper me with questions about him,” Katz wrote. “It was humbling to see the wonder, adoration, and affection in their faces, to see the elderly women pushed into the barn in wheelchairs, young and wild-eyed children from New York City and Toronto and Chicago step nervously toward Simon only to discover that he loved every single one of them, loved being touched, hugged, handed cookies and carrots. His gentleness, especially with children, was poignant. He never grabbed an apple or carrot, never frightened anyone, never nipped a hand or backed away from being touched or rubbed.
“Simon did not save me. I saved him, but he did teach me what compassion is all about … Simon touches the deepest........