I have a strong belief that our souls move in life circles, reuniting with the same souls over and over again. This relatedness means that we are closer than we know to those we spend any length of time with. Look at the photo I found while going through old files.
This is a young Dondi on the right and our dear Flora on the left. The photo was taken one winter when Flora boarded with Dondi over a winter at Dondi’s home in Arkansas.
Everyone knows how painful it is to experience the loss of a loved one, especially one we raised, nurtured and protected.
Last month Phil and Francine Schacht faced a terrible loss. Dondi, the elephant they raised from infancy, died of tuberculosis. When I heard the news, my heart went out to Phil and Francine. I thought of Tarra because the two were the same age. And I immediately flashed back to the time that Tarra and I met Dondi in Arkansas.
Tarra and I were driving cross-country from Quebec, Canada, to our home in Ojai, California. It was the end of a long circus season and we were anxious to get home. As was our practice, late in the evening we found a rural campground to spend the night.
These campgrounds were perfect because at this time of year they were empty of other travelers and usually backed up to a wildness area, a perfect playground for Tarra and her dogs. Campground services seemed to be tailor made for a traveling elephant: a private parking space with a personal dumpster and water faucet plus bathroom, shower and phone for her caregivers.
On this mid-fall evening driving through Arkansas, I spied a campground sign and followed the dark country road to the entrance. In front of me lay a vast pasture with a large wooden barn nestled way in the back of the property. The place was completely empty. I pulled Tarra’s rig into the prime space off the main road, adjacent to a large pond, between a few midsize shade trees.
As usual, Tarra was excited to exit her trailer. With Ace and Tasha, our constant canine companions, Tarra and I took off towards the woods. It was always part of the fun to remind Tarra to contain her excitement until we were under the cover of the woods. Her squeals and boisterous trumpets had been known to cause alarm in areas unaccustomed to pachyderm visitors. Allowing Tarra the freedom to play with full abandon is what enabled us to deal with circus life. In the woods Tarra no longer had to curb her vocalizations. Admittedly a few trumpets and series of dog-like barks echoed from deep in the woods. That night she played until spent, which took close to 45 minutes and left many young trees wondering what had just blown through.
In the morning, Tarra wasted no time plunging into her personal pond for her morning bath. The amenities at this campground were excellent. When I saw a man approaching I assumed he was the campground owner. So I braced myself for the reprimand I was about to receive. Boy — was I ever surprised. With a firm grip, the stocky man shook my hand and introduced himself as Phil Schacht, “owner of Dondi the elephant”.
Dondi, an Asian elephant of Tarra’s age, emerged from the wooden barn at the far end of the campground. Who would have guessed that our travels would bring us to her doorstep? Phil and his wife Francine ran the campground and lived there with Dondi when not on the road traveling with the circus.
What transpired a few minutes later forged an unforgettable bond between elephant guardians and newly acquainted elephants. We invited both elephants to “go see” the other. Like the slow motion commercial where two lovers gracefully run across an open filed into each other’s arms, Tarra and Dondi sprinted several hundred yards towards each other. They had never met before but they did not hesitate for a moment to engage in full-on pachyderm play.
As their guardians stood by, beaming with pride at their foster children, these two adolescent elephants played like litter mates. Perfectly matched, they had no fear of each other, nor desire to dominate or be submissive. They rubbed their big bodies up against the other, wiggled and gently pushed, entwined trunks, rolled around on the ground together like pigs in mud, squeaked, squealed and trumpeted in delight. Dondi would freeze and then race over to Phil, vocalizing madly. Tarra would imitate, hovering her trunk centimeters from my nose, barking incessantly. Dondi lovingly slobbered all over Phil with her trunk and tongue and quickly dashed back to Tarra. They were a whirlwind of pure joy. These two played and played and played, until finally their energy was spent and they decided that grazing was the next activity of the day.
This experience will be forever etched in my heart. Tarra and Dondi never met again, something I had always hoped for. But perhaps such magic is not repeated. Dondi will be sincerely missed.
May 18
In Memory of Dear Barbara, a Powerful Spiritual Teacher
Today I thought…
A person dreams a dream. That same person so completely believes in the dream, seeing it clearly in her mind and feeling its pulse in her heart that the dream is brought to life. The dream is manifested.
This transformation from intangible to substance evolves as result of a deep spiritual belief and powerful conviction. The process is not without sacrifice and hardship but the inner drive is so strong and belief so all consuming that all hardships are disregarded.
Once the dream has been transformed into a tangible state it can be easily appreciated by others. Many will feel a connection from deep inside their being and they too will feel connected and blessed by the manifestation of the dream. These believers will join in to support the further evolution of that dream.
Because so many have seen and believed in the dream and its manifestation, does it then result that the original dreamer should be made to sever her connection to the dream she dreamt and brought to life? Is it even possible to sever such a connection, which defies all logic and explanation? Is it rational to expect that the dreamer will abandon her dream? I think not.
Not only is it illogical but impossible for the dreamer to amputate all emotional, spiritual and psychological connections to that which is her dream. It is my belief that a dreamer’s dream is hers to create and share with others, as she herself will share in the dreams of others. We do a grave injustice when we attempt to squelch another’s dream or take it as our own.
Each of us carries a seed of hope for the future inside of us. We have a gift to give, unlike any gift another can give. Ours is unique and special to us. It is my belief that attempting to prevent another from fulfilling their dream, their life’s work, is the most serious of human violations that can be committed.
I have dreamt my dream and manifested that which is uniquely mine to give. From experience I can say with conviction, dream your dream with all your heart and it will become real. Continue to hold that dream close to your heart as a mother would a newborn child. Protect it and keep it safe. Share with others but never hand your dream over to another because only you can dream your dream and keep it alive in the way it was meant to be.
I am eternally grateful for the guidance that the elephants continue to provide me.
April 30
This morning I followed the elephants down to the river for their morning bath. The sheer joy of immersing in water is universal with elephants. It gave me goose bumps to see them so relaxed, splashing water, throwing trunkfuls over their backs and drinking freely.
When I am standing, quietly observing the Sauraha elephants, I can’t help but notice similarities between this group of elephants and my girls. There is one who is Sissy’s twin in looks and temperament and another that is a younger version of Billie-Sue. This elephant caught my eye the first day I met her, not only because she looked so much like Billie-Sue but also because she seems very insecure, much like Billie-Sue when she was first rescued.
My most memorable time this morning was when one of the elephants “accidentally” dumped her handler into the water. I of course was silently cheering for the elephant as the young man tried to maneuver in the shallow water to remount his elephant.
The elephant took full advantage of her temporary freedom, turning her hind end to the boy each time he got close. I don’t know exactly what he was saying but he was not happy that the elephant was not responding. His commands got louder and louder, his embarrassment at her outsmarting him was obvious.
Ignoring his attempts to control her, the elephant continued to cover herself with trunkfuls of the cool river water, until another man appeared. He yelled a few commands to the elephant and climbed onto her back while she was still in the river. She continued to play, trying to ignore him as well but it was obvious that she respected him more than the boy.
The phanit was aware of being watched and thankfully did not physically punish the elephant. Instead he made her go through a series of repetitive commands like turning from side to side and lying down in the water. She was not willing to give it over right away and did a “Minnie stunt,” dropping her head to the river bottom with her rear and one hind leg sticking up in the air.
The handler was obviously her phanit. Although she was making it difficult to stay on top of her back, he succeeded. He actually laughed, which relieved my concern that she had gone too far and would pay for her disobedience. I exhaled, realizing only then that I had been holding my breath.
The pachuwa stood looking dejected on the river bank. No doubt he had just learned some valuable training lessons and, hopefully, a deeper respect for the intelligence of his elephant.
The reality is that no matter the amount of academic training a person has, practical experience is essential in order to develop an expertise with elephants. The number of different elephants and situations a handler is exposed to is key to developing skills. Each lesson an elephant teaches the handler is a building block for the next lesson in the unending series of lessons that brings valuable insight into who elephants are.
I am doing my best to understand, without judgment, the traditions held in Sauraha regarding elephants and handlers. The more I learn about the traditions, the better prepared I will be to effect some degree of change. The elephant owners and handlers are receptive, which gives me cause to be optimistic. Change can occur, it will just take time.