Best wishes in your hunt

I really hope you find him. What a great reunion that will be!

Here's hoping.

That man sounds like a saint! So happy to hear he's out trying to help the animals.

Praying that you'll find Moses today!

Moses, please be safe.

That was wonderful, the man going around feeding the dogs. Moses come out of the wilderness.

I sure hope that you find Moses.

Moses, the waters have parted -- come home, boy. It is safe. There is love and care waiting for you.

Marilyn, I hope today will bring a special reunion. ((( )))

Oh I hope it is him!! And that you 2 are together soon.

It is like looking for a needle in a hay stack. Walked the woods as best we could. Penned up dogs. Drove all around. Left phone number with everyone I could find. Went to fairgrounds where lost and refugee animals are located. Updated the missing report I filled out last week.

I start to think maybe the guy made it up but there is one thing that makes me think it is true. He said the sound he made wasn't a bray, but more of an "uhmph". That is the sound Amos made when he was in the stock trailer during the flood and needed to be rescued. He never brayed.

How could he possibly know about the odd bray? It has to be him. I'm still hoping!

Fingers crossed for you, Marilyn!

Could you put out his favorite treat? See if anyone has a trail camera you could borrow?

I'm sure the guy is telling the truth. Fingers crossed.

We can only pray.

Why would he make it up? Sounds like the man wants to help, evidenced by him feeding dogs that may have been abandoned. I can't think of any reason he'd lie. Too bad he didn't put s halter on the mule and take it home, but it does sound like his heart is in the right place. Why do you think you might lie?

I think it's more Marilyn is afraid to hope because she doesn't want to be hurt again.....and after what they went through, it seems almost impossible. However, stranger things have happened and am praying it is Moses.

People make things up to feel important, get attention.

I think the bigger question, is how could he make it up? How could he possibly know the oddity? I doubt he's making it up.

P.S. Marilyn, I see the barbed wire tangle as saving him. He was floating away, and it grabbed his leg enough to keep him close. It's possible. Anything is possible.

Keep checking this thread to see if you found him, Marilyn. I keep hoping.

Doesn't sound like this is the case, in this case, socks.

Hoping Moses can show soon!

Here's the listing: Male donkey jack

BTW: I've only ever had horses so please forgive my ignorance, but, how are donkeys marked? Do they have lip tattoos like horses?

I pray you find Moses!

Me, too!

I lost a long post. Typing on my phone, so slow.

Highlights...

Socks is right. Some people just make things up.

I don't believe Moses could still be alive if he was in wire for a week.

If anything my idiot dogs could have chased him and caused him to get hung up.

The fact that he knew the sound donkeys make when highly stressed makes me believe him.

However, I don't think he is on the place....he would bray when I call him.

If he went down the road, he would see Amos and go there. He hasn't.

He isn't marked but I know some of his characteristics that set him apart.

For example, front feet toe out.

Thoroughbred race horses and racing quarter horses have lip tattoos. Other horses can be freeze or hot branded or microchipped. Most aren't marked at all.

I read on FB that someone found a male donkey about 12 miles from here. I checked it out. Not him. He wouldn't roam that far but I wouldn't put it past the two scumbags that hauled off my dog and stole Piggy Sue to haul him off. So I will check any I hear about.

I am at Jodi's house now, but getting ready to go home and look some more.

Oh, another reason I doubted the guy, he said a buck and two doe deer were hung up near him and he freed them too. Sounds fishy to me.

Heck, I don't know, but if he lied, I didn't need this extra stress. If he comes backaround, I am going to make him come show me where he found him!

Darn, came back for an update and was so hoping to read Moses was back home safe and sound. Still crossing everything that can be crossed for him to come home alive and reasonably well!!

Well dang, I was hoping that he was home too.

I realize that its'easy for me to say being way up here,but hang in there Marilyn... don't give up.....yet.

Hoping you find Moses alive and well. Miracles happen.

Geez....people tell some stories...and now this....

I hope Moses is alive.....

He wouldn't roam that far but I wouldn't put it past the two scumbags that hauled off my dog and stole Piggy Sue to haul him off. So I will check any I hear about.

Well, then, I'm glad I posted the picture of and link to this donkey. At first I hesitated to because I thought, "Who would sell a donkey that they found?"

Another thought: Do you have a spotlight that you could use or borrow to shine into the woods at dusk? Since it's an effective way of spotting deer eyes maybe it'll work on donkey eyes. You could always use car or truck headlights if you don't have a spotlight.

Could the man who claims to have seen him be looking for a finder's fee of some sort?

Sounds fishy to me, too. You just don't approach a panicked stag and free him. That's sheer lunacy! You'd be lucky to come away with your life. Deer up here are just going into rut. If a stag up here had two does with him...he'd likely try to kill anyone who came near him/them. Sounds like the guy was either trying to make himself sound good...or he was trying to cover his tracks. He should, at least, have had a few surface wounds if he did as he says he did. If Jody knows where he lives...I'd sure want to pay him and his property a visit.

Maybe it sounds fishy but on the other hand, how did he know ou were missing a donkey?

My guess is he was thrilled at your interest when he said that he may have found your donkey. Keep looking for Moses. It sounds really really promising. PS I don't know if it works with donkeys with maybe hang some of your unlaundered shirts from low-lying branches so that he can smell them.

IMO...the same way that drunken woman knew about the GoFundMe page that was set up for Marilyn. In today's internet world...all manner of things are known that weren't known in earlier times. And neighbors tell neighbors...especially during times of disasters.

Could someone have taken Moses in, given him a stall, food, etc., not knowing who his owners were (and perhaps not caring enough to make inquiries)?

I know where he lives. He wasn't trying to get a finder's fee. I think he had a few too many beers and let his mouth overload his ass....no pun intended.

Moses is simply not on the place. I have no doubt about that.

He found out we were missing a donkey yesterday when they served lunch at cityhall.

Where we live, Alisande, is very sparsely populated. If he was here a couple days ago, he should be in the near area. Amos, his friend, is right down the road. He would go to him.

I have never had any real faith in the guy's story. I wanted to believe it but it is too far fetched for me to buy into it whole heartedly.

If Moses is free and not hung up, he is capable of taking care of himself. He will be happy as long as long as he can find grazing material and some water to drink. They are hardy animals and have few enemies. It would take something like a bear or mountain lion to be a threat. A lowly poisonous snake is another threat, although the equine family is tuned to avoiding snakes.

What might bring him back would be if he had a girl friend, or another companion donkey back at your place, but I did not hear a mention of such. It is possible that he has wandered into unfamiliar territory and is lost (don't know the way home). In this case, he has to be 'found' for a return to your place.

Don't give up. Only worry if you see buzzards circling in the sky scoping out something on the ground, and this is not always a good indicator because buzzards often ride thermals when they find those plus there are other sources of carrion.

If you have a friend with drone equipped with a transmitting camera, he could help scan a large area. A recording camera is useful also, but one has to blindly photograph an area and bring the camera back to base to examine the results.

His best friend is less than a mile away. He would go to him. He knows the area because he used to get out all the time and I would have to go find him and bring him back. There are lots of open hay fields, so if he is out there, he has plenty to eat and enough drainage ditches he can find water. He always comes to me, or brays when I call him. I have heard nothing. Maybe if Amos would bray...he would go find him, but Amos has been quiet, as far as I know. I guess he is just happy to be alive and with the horses.

The guy builds race cars, so you would think he is a regular guy and has better things to do than make up stories.

I have better things to do than go looking for a donkey that may be in the Gulf of Mexico by now. So I will hold out hope and check any donkey reports I hear, but I'm going back to work.

I have been looking for buzzards. Yesterday in the woods, I found the remains of a dead hog. We had a dozen hogs. I know one survived, and besides that dead one, there is one near the barn. Two of the hogs were over 500 lb....Newt and Delores, and Lee, slightly smaller. I know they had to have drowned. Water was higher than the fences, but I didn't find their bodies in the woods yesterday. But it is so thick with brush and briars, you can't walk thru it all.

If the guy hadn't thrown in the part about the 3 deer.....maybe I could have believed it better.

Time to relax about him, you've done your very best and have other animals and cleanup to take care of. I know he's in the back of your mind a lot though! Sometimes when I stop looking for something is when I find it. If he's out there, he may be living a dream – – being wild. Sorry for your worry about Moses, and I do hope he can be found.

It's a rollercoaster of emotions. I'm so sorry... you're having a lot to deal with but you're handling it very well. Don't give up hope but focus on those things you can do something about.

Just a so you know that there is hope.... one of the neighbor cats went missing and presumed dead. 27 days later they had a knock on the door. That cat was locked in a shed 27 DAYS!!! There must have been a leak so that rain water could get in, otherwise there's no way it could have lived. 27 DAYS!!! He isn't doing well and its been about 3 weeks since he was found. Weighs 4 lbs, lost more than half his weight. He's an old guy. Hope he recovers.

Oh, moonie - the poor little guy. Please keep us posted.

I'm still praying that Moses is alive and can be found.

I'll go get an update this afternoon, suzieque.

I truly believe Moses is gone and died 8 days ago, but as soon as we get home and get things straightened up, I will get another donkey companion for Amos. Donkeys like to be with their own kind. Amos has been a companion for Bane, who was very nervous and afraid of the other horses and that just caused them to pick on him more. So I put Amos with him and he calmed down totally. Amos was less than thrilled about his babysitting job but it helped Bane immensely. Since the flood, Bane has been with the other horses and "integrated" into the "herd". With TueLo gone, there was a leadership shake up and the new boss is Gypsy, and she likes Bane. So Bane is happy with the horses and Amos is more alone.

I am sure I will have no trouble finding a donkey and probably for free.

marilyn....so sorry for every that you have been through. my little yorky has been gone over a year now...I still think i hear her at night.....i get up and call her

Pattico. That is heartbreaking. I'm sure you must have loved your little girl so much. I've never lost a pet, but I have little Lil Yorkie/Chi who I love so much and I know someday I will lose her..I can't even bare the thoughts.

What a wonderful story and I love the happy ending.

I believed from the start that Moses died in the flood. The story the man told me about finding him, did not make any sense but I wanted to believe he was still alive. I think it was a cruel thing he did....and I spent a day searching because I believed he was sick or injured. But I know my animals. I had him about 6 years and I know him. He is not in the area and if he were, he would be with Amos. I know he didn't make it and that hurts, but if by a miracle he showed up, that would be wonderful. I feel the same about Pig Newton. I am a realist.

I also know deer are highly excitable animals and that was a bald faced lie about cutting them out of barb wire. Also deer are rarely on my place. The whole story was a big fat lie and when I see him again, I am damned sure going to tell him.