"We healed each other's broken hearts!"

When Shelbi Hahn moved across the country, she felt lost and alone. Soon after, she suffered a devastating loss. She never imagined a neighbor’s donkey would offer the comfort she needed

- Diane Nichols

As she browsed the little antiques shop up the road from her new house in August of 2020, Shelbi Hahn introduced herself to the owner. Her husband, she explained, had just gotten out of the military and with the coronavirus raging, the only job he could find was in Dinwiddie, Virginia. So they packed up their 3-year-old daughter and moved. “It’s hard because our whole family is back in California,” Shelbi confided.

The shop owner sympathized and told Shelbi that she was welcome to visit any time.

Shelbi took her new neighbor up on that offer. She especially enjoyed visiting with the animals on the property. The donkey, Jenny, became a favorite. Shelbi would sit on a bench in Jenny’s corral and pour her heart out. Somehow, she always felt better afterward.

So it was Jenny that Shelbi turned to when her older brother passed away. It was sudden and unexpected, just like when her dad had died in 2013. Even worse, with so many travel restrictions due to the pandemic, the family couldn’t gather.

“I miss my brother with all my heart,” Shelbi wept, stroking her friend’s soft ears, as Jenny lay her head lovingly on Shelbi’s lap, gently nuzzling her.