Diesel the donkey living wild with a herd of elk (Photo @maxfennell via Instagram)

Dear Readers, five years ago a family were hiking with their donkey, Diesel, in Northern California (like you do) when something spooked him, and he ran away. The family, the Drewrys, searched for Diesel in vain – he was spotted on a trail camera, and there were some hoofprints, but he was never found, in spite of weeks of searching on foot, on horseback and even by drone.

And then, earlier this year a hunter, Max Fennell, spotted something unusual in a herd of elk – one of them appeared to be not an elk, but a donkey. Fennell has some short video of the herd (which he observed but didn’t harm) on his Instagram feed here.

According to an interview with CBS, Diesel has even  been earning his keep with his adopted family by killing  coyotes who menace the young deer, and he might even have protected the elk from a mountain lion.

What is probably most heart-warming about this story is not only how healthy and strong Diesel looks, but also that the Drewry family are content to let him continue in the wild, without attempting to recapture him.

Terrie Drewry had this to say when she saw the video:

“It was amazing. It was like, oh my gosh. Finally, we saw him. Finally, we know he’s good. He’s living his best life. He’s happy. He’s healthy, and it was just a relief.” 

Letting go seems to me to be something that is rarely appreciated for the skill that it is, in this world of striving and owning. How powerful it is when someone can truly relinquish control and allow something to just be as it should be. Here’s hoping that Diesel and his new family continue to thrive.