The World According To Walter

Walter the mule is a wise, old soul.

And I’m pretty sure he understands English.

When he arrived at Singing Whale Rescue and Rehabilitation, we quickly understood Walter had been through some things. A couple of them were obvious—a broken tail and a general mistrust of people, for example. The fact that he had been dumped at a kill pen in Arkansas was also a significant clue that his pre-rescue life had not been ideal.

He let us know right away he just wanted to be fed and then left alone.

As the months passed, we started to wonder if he would ever warm up to us. All our attempts at kindness were gently declined—except for the apple-oat treats, which to this day are his favorite thing in the world.

A few months ago, though, we had a breakthrough. It was nothing dramatic—just a quiet concession that we could, very occasionally, love on him for a few moments. After which he would move away and resume his stoic indifference (while we celebrated with inconspicuous dances and covert high-fives).

This went on for a while, during which we began to notice random instances when Walter seemed to be listening to and understanding what we said. Example:

ME (whispering): “Walter, we need to get everyone over to the next pasture—it would be really helpful if you would lead the way over there…”

WALTER (five seconds later): [turns and runs through the gate into the next pasture, tossing his head the entire way, followed by the rest of the herd]

ME (silently): “What just happened??”

No lie.

Another example:

WALTER (with burrs under his chin and on his chest): …

ME: “Walter, I’d be happy to help you with those burrs, if you’d let me…”

WALTER: [moves closer and stands there while I fuss over him for quite a bit longer than a few moments]

ME (silently): “Omg, omg, omg…”

Make of that what you will, but I’m convinced. I now make it a habit to have long conversations with Walter—not with the expectation that he’s going to do something amazing, but just to keep the dialogue going. And to continually remind him that he’s loved and can trust us to do the right thing by him.

As a matter of sustainability, some of our rescues are eventually placed with good homes on the island. Walter, however, will be staying here with us forever.