From Mary Beth: “I answer this every year because I have so much to be grateful for in my life. The fact that I am alive is a miracle and I am thankful for each minute I get to spend. I also do not spend my life worrying about when the last moment will be. To be loved and part of a great family of animals and humans is the best. To have people come see me and want to touch me out of love and respect and not out of pity always makes my day. So I indeed am very thankful. But this year, I want to do something in addition. You may look at me and be filled with joy and wonder that I am grateful for things. Some of you even help support me and I am grateful for that too. But, let’s turn this around. Because I want to know what you are grateful for? And if you are having a hard time right now, I still want to hear from you. Because no matter how tough things are or ever will be, we can choose one small thing to focus on that we are grateful for. So let’s hear from you. Make this donkey proud. Give me a reply. The other animals will be envious! The humans will let me know. Come on now, just one thing you are grateful for right now in this moment. If I can do it, so can you.

From Nala: “I know you expect me to say something deep here. But truly, I am grateful for food. I love food. I love finding food that people don’t think I can get. I guess that is technically stealing but I just look at it as being on a big scavenger hunt and winning a great prize. The humans don’t buy that though. Let’s face it, cats like to hunt. We were born hunters. So sometimes, I just go on a little expedition to see what might be lurking around. A tasty morsel here and there is a good find. I also am grateful when people just give me my own space. I am understood here. And I am so grateful for that. It is glorious to be appreciated. Even if I do grab things I shouldn’t every once in a while.”

From Brandy:  “I am grateful for the human hearts who let me touch them. I have met people with very heavy hearts. And I love to give them a place to rest inside of my heart. To watch someone heal a part of themselves simply by letting them see and feel my heart, is an honor for which I will never grow tired. I love when people who have never touched a horse before come over to me and with great timidity they reach out and touch my nose. I see the delight on their faces when they feel how soft it feels. And when they feel my breath on their skin they feel calm. I love watching that. I never tire of letting someone new experience being with me. This farm is peace. I rest my heart within the energy of this farm. I have had a long journey. It was not always pleasant. But to know I have reached the place I can just be me without worrying about what will happen to me, is pure joy. And I love to share that joy as a gift I can give to others. If you want to meet a horse, you can come find me. I’ll share my heart with yours and you may even feel better for it afterwards.”

From Yeti: “I was given the gift of being born into a really cute body. For some, that would be enough. But the problem with being cute is that no one looks at me past that. I am actually a very interesting bunny. People keep telling me I look like I’m not real. But the thing is I am real. And if you’d get to know me, you’d actually see that I’m really interesting. I like to be curious about life. The more questions I can ask about things in life, the more surprised and delighted I am to be alive. So, humans, I challenge you to get more curious.”

From Leo: “Hello, it’s me Leo. Some of you may remember me and some of you may not. But that is your choice of course. I’ve been doing this every year since I was but a baby. I ask every year if I can give a message. But this year I want to tell you why I feel this is so important. Not everyone learns to listen to animals let alone think that we can have big feelings and dreams like you do. We are just in different looking bodies. But we have hearts and souls just like you do. I always find it interesting why Dawn comes and asks us what we are most grateful for. We animals are grateful by nature. The real question is what you humans are most grateful for. I think you tend to forget or ignore the most amazing things around you. You focus on what you think you are missing or don’t have and then you mull that over and over again. Every single one of you is as blessed as we are. Find something to be grateful for today and focus on it. It can be the sun. Grass. A tree. Your family. A friend. But just know, there is always something out there for you. That is what I have for this year.”

From Olivia: “I think I am an interesting subject for your gratitude project. People look at me and always see the one thing I am missing instead of seeing me for all I have. Just because I am missing a leg, doesn’t make me less than whole. I do not spend my life focused on what I’m missing. Instead, I choose to be grateful for all I have. And there is so much that I have in life. I have a family. I have a place I am loved. I am respected as an elder in the cat clan that I manage. Not one of these cats in here sees me as deficient in any way. No one pities me. No one makes fun of me. And no one judges me. I’d say that humans could learn a lot from my life. If I could offer advice to you it would be this. Don’t waste your time focused on beating yourself up for what you don’t have or what you perceive to be your shortcomings. Because all of you are beautiful beings who should never be labeled by what you are lacking. You should only be valued for the wonderful person that you are. Gratitude starts as a seed within each one of us. Let that seed grow.”

From Charlie:  “Being a pony is a privilege only bestowed upon the most noble of animals. It takes a certain kind of delightful mixture to be a pony. It is not for the faint of heart. You have to meet certain criteria. And I am grateful to check all of the boxes! One has to be cute with a side helping of charming. One has to be masterful at knowing when to use that charm and cuteness to get your way. One also has to have a fair degree of spunk. It shows great character and steadfastness. One has to know how to fit your big size soul into a tiny body and be prepared that people will not see your large size inside of that pony body. In fact, you may be the only one who sees or understands that. And, sadly, as a pony, one has to be resilient. Because you will get moved around a lot. You will be important to little people. But little people grow up and then outgrow you. It’s tough being a cute pony. People tend to forget who you are. And while you seem to be ever so popular at times, you will also need to be prepared to feel ever so lonely. I am most grateful because I spent a lot of lonely and misunderstood years. But I have landed in a most delightful place. A place where I’m treasured for being cute and for being just a touch naughty. And I am loved for all of it. For this, I will forever be grateful!”

From Sylvester: “There is so much that I am grateful for. But there is something more that I’d like to share. Because I feel there a lot of humans who are not taking time out of each and every day to flow gratitude. That is a choice everyone can make. I see a lot of humans who just want things their own way and have not learned the fine art of helping one another by supporting one another instead of tearing each other down in order to get to the top of the pile. You see, we animals don’t do that here. We may not all get along. We may not all like each other even. But we honor the existence of the others with dignity and respect. I’d be even more grateful in life if people could at least try to do that.”

From Felix: “I am grateful for everything around me. I’m thankful to have my buddy Leo – even though he is a bit bossy at times. This year in our barn, we are very grateful to still have our friend Ginny with us. She got very sick suddenly and had to be rushed to a big hospital. We were so relieved to see her come back a week later. She is our leader. She is very grounded and peaceful. So this year, I am most grateful that she is ok and is back here with us. Our family is very tight with one another. We stick together even though we are all so different. Nobody is as different as the sheep. I think they are strange. But we love them too. And, I am also grateful for food. I never stop being grateful for that. And I’m truly blessed to have people to love and be loved by. My favorite thing from my human family is to give and receive their hugs. There is just so much to be grateful for in life.”

From Mary:  “It’s not easy being the cutest sheep in the flock! That was meant as a little sheep humor but I truly am grateful for this wonderful body that I am in. I love being alive. I love the sun on my body when I’m out grazing with my friends on a nice day. I love being with my other sheep friends. I love hearing birds singing. And I really enjoy watching butterflies. I find them so magical. There is so much to be grateful for in life. My heart fills with the beauty and wonder of nature. And I love feeling so close to the Earth. On really quiet winter days, when the conditions are just right, I swear I hear the heartbeat of the Earth. If you humans could learn to be more quiet, I bet you could hear and feel that too. It is magnificent and deeply loving. It is good to feel our connection to the Earth. She is our mother and it is good to feel her love. I am most grateful for all of that.”