That friend was Ernie, one of her two pet miniature donkeys.
Ernie’s death was a tragic loss for Baker, the result of a vicious attack by two loose pit bulls that found their way to her farm.
“I know when dogs are threatening and they were not exhibiting any threatening behavior at all," Baker said. "I reached through the fence to pet them and as I turned to examine the other one, they turned around and ran."
“One of my donkeys was over on the other end of the pasture. They ran over there and started immediately biting him on the face and the legs.”
Baker quickly called a friend and grabbed a large branch, ran to her pet's aide and frantically began swatting the dog, which had its jaw clenched to the face of the donkey.
The friend she called informed authorities of the situation. Sheriff’s deputies and the Beatrice Animal Control Officer soon arrived on the scene. She said authorities recognized the dogs from past incidents. They called the owner, who gave permission for the dogs to be put down.
[This donkey might not have died if the police had simply shot the dogs immediately. How much more suffering did this little donkey have to endure while the police finally rolled up, looked at the pit bulls ripping its face off, recognizing the dogs, pulling out their cell phones and calling the owner and asking "Is it OK if I shoot your dogs? They're killing a little donkey. Oh, it's OK? OK, thanks. Talk to you later."]
Both pit bulls were shot on site.
Baker, who lives alone with her pets, said the two miniature donkeys -- aptly named Bert and Ernie -- were nearly inseparable on her farm less than a mile south of Beatrice.
“When I saw only one, I thought the other was dead,” Baker said. “I found my other donkey in the barn. They’d already savaged him.”
Baker called a veterinarian who administered antibiotics and pain killers.
Bert will recover with only minor injuries.
Ernie wasn't as lucky.
The donkey lived nearly two weeks after the Nov. 19 attack, but reflecting on the situation, Baker wishes Ernie had been euthanized soon after.
The wounds on Ernie’s face were severe. Because of their location around his mouth, they couldn’t be sealed. Baker was given a disinfecting spray to treat the wounds twice a day. It didn’t take long to see the spray wasn’t helping Ernie.
“That little donkey had tears in his mouth clear to the bone, his eye was lacerated and there were wounds on his legs,” Baker said. “He suffered terribly. The second day it just stunk like rotting flesh and the vet said that the circulation had been compromised in his lower jaw. I don’t believe he could eat at all."
Baker tried to take Ernie homemade applesauce. The donkey would put his nose down into it, but couldn't open his mouth to eat it.
“It was terrible," she said.
Baker said the veterinarian notified her the donkey may have had to be put down, but waited to see whether Ernie responded to the treatment.
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| Sheriff Millard “Gus” Gustafson |
Sheriff Millard “Gus” Gustafson said no citation was issued to the dogs’ owner, David Wakem, though a civil case could arise from the situation.
Neither of the dogs threatened Baker during the ordeal.
Baker said the owners covered her veterinary costs, and a neighbor aided in her pet's burial.
But it doesn’t make the situation easier.
“I’m angry for a couple of reasons,” Baker said. “I’ve worked at the shelter and I’ve worked with pit bulls. I think they’re good pets if they’re socialized and not let out to run. Owners need to take care of them. Pit bulls do have instincts and they’re deadly to cats and any small animal that will run from them.”
Baker’s pet donkeys aren’t the first issue the area has had with aggressive pit bulls. There have been multiple cases in the past two years, most notably when a teenager lost a portion of his ear to a pit bull last July.
The Beatrice City Council considered placing a ban on pit bull breeds of dogs when it revamped the city’s animal ordinance in 2011, but decided not to include a breed-specific ban after hearing opposition from the public.
An animal lover with pets ranging from the donkeys to cats, dogs and birds, Baker said despite the situation she witnessed firsthand, she still wouldn’t support a ban on pit bulls in Beatrice.
She thinks the owners are the ones responsible for the dogs’ actions.
“I’ve had dogs all my life, and if they had kept those dogs at home and taken care of them as they should, have they probably wouldn’t have had to be put down,” Baker said. “I had real mixed feelings about them being shot, but I didn’t want them coming back and hurting my donkey again or hurting somebody’s child.
“I think it can happen with any dog if the circumstances are right.”
Baker’s loss is a tough one. Ernie was a member of the family, but now her main concern is what will happen to Bert. She got both donkeys because they’re more happy around other animals. She’s also 65, and the duties of feeding and manure removal are beginning to be a burden.
Her best hope is to find someone who can give Bert a home for the rest of his days.
She’ll give away her companion of more than a decade without charge, only requiring that his new owner will care for him as much as she has through the years.
“They’re really gentle and curious animals that like treats and to be petted,” Baker said. “I just want to make sure Bert has a good home.”
(Beatrice Daily Sun - Dec 4, 2012)
