And One Wait Is Over!!

**Warning** graphic birthing photos - and wow have I been waiting a LOOOOONG time to say that!!! {Yes I am grinning from ear to ear!!!}

I got woken up this morning around 4:00 a.m. by a little chihuahua, walking all over both of us, whining, and turning circles like she was going to deliver pups. Except it's Vada who is not possibly due until early December... She would NOT settle down so I finally asked her if she had to go potty and Randy said YES take her out...

I put her out the door and then decided as long as I was up and would have to wait for her, I might as well throw on a jacket and go check my big bellies out back...

The flashlight finds Susie Q, all is normal. But where is Taffy??? I finally spotted her in a dark corner, and shined the flashlight on this:

Boy did I move fast then! I ran back to the house, took off my jacket, got dressed, told Randy we're having a baby, grabbed the camera, ran down the hall to tell Hilary we are having a baby, and ran back outside hoping I haven't missed it... nope nothing has changed.

Soon Hilary stumbles out, I mention surprise that she actually came and she said she wasn't going to but then she started thinking how she had never seen anything born but goats so she came out anyway. All this time Vada was still whining and circling, getting the other dogs all stirred up, then she started trying to dig under the fence to get to us in the donkey pen. Taffy didn't need that commotion so I had Hilary go get her, and she sat on our laps - back and forth - and watched with us. Every time Taffy had a contraction, Vada would whine and circle... and Hilary will tell you that is nerve-wracking how many times a donkey will get up and circle and lay back down before she finally gets to business!!!

Perfect presentation, nose and two front feet

Head out... and with that big blaze it's got to be a spotted baby! Now I am chanting "please be a girl, please be a girl" and Hilary is laughing at me...

Halfway there...

Checking out mama while still partway inside!

Baby was even trying to get up on its front feet while the hind end was still inside!


We've got a whole baby! And yes before it could even stand up, I had Hilary hold the flashlight and I had that tail up looking... ONE HOLE OR TWO????? And WAHOO it's my little girl!!!!! Last year at Midweek Fellowship when I took in pictures of all the baby boy donkeys we had, one young lady was wondering about baby girl donkeys. I told her my hopes for a spotted girl someday, that I could keep, and we talked about names... one on my list caught her attention, her eyes lit up and she said "That's MY name!!!" so I promised her that my next keeper would be called... Sarah Beth!

You can see big sister Ellie Mae trying to see what's going on. She was a pest the whole time, thank goodness for the small pen inside the big one so we could lock her out!

In no time at all Sarah Beth was trying to stand...


Back legs working better than the front legs...

And she's up!

And she's looking a lot like Bambi on the ice!!!

And she's down... oh boy is it hard to watch a baby fall and not be able to catch it! Especially when she is so wet and getting SO DIRTY! But she needs to figure it out...

Just like people, the friends and relatives gather to see the new arrival - who is not really brown! You'll see...

Good job mama!!! Welcome to the world, Sarah Beth!!!


At this point I had to get the rest of the critters fed and I figured mama could use a few minutes WITHOUT a flash going off {grin} but hey, in order to understand my excitement, you have to know that we have had 14 foals here over the years, and I have missed all but two. And those two, well, the first one I saw just the second half of the birth and we lost that filly to heat stroke at 10 days old... the second one was a bad presentation, we lost the foal immediately and about six weeks later lost mama too. Coincidentally, that mama was a solid spotted donkey - had only a big blaze from her spotted parent... looked a whole lot like this baby! Anyway I was feeling kinda like a jinx, and even though I kept trying to see a full birth, I was always relieved when I would go out in the morning and wow there's a baby and it's all done and good... To finally see a full live birth is a long-time dream and to top matters off, it's the spotted girl I have been waiting for and I GET TO KEEP HER!!! So this was really really really a big deal for me...

I did get a few more pictures before I had to go to work, she is starting to dry off:

Precious face

I'm seeing spots...

...on both hips!

Her first earcam... see my terrified little chihuahua behind that left ear? Ty was really wanting to get to me but afraid to get too near either donkey... he just can't understand why he isn't the center of attention as usual!

Taffy being protective

It's so hard to take pictures when she stands right next to me all the time!

I had to get going, so I got sleepy promises from both Hilary and Randy to take more pictures, and phone calls later assuring it was done. Randy says she is hopping all around like a Mexican jumping bean. I worked through lunch so I could go home early and have a tiny bit of daylight time... I can't wait!!!