Running with Sherman

Sherman is an abused donkey of uncertain origin. While McDougall details the deplorable conditions Sherman was kept in, he provides very little description of the animal hoarder and his family, likely in order to protect the man’s identity. It is unknown where the hoarder acquired Sherman and how old Sherman is when McDougall takes possession of him.

Even in the depths of his deteriorated condition, however, Sherman’s affable personality is detectable in the movement of his ears, as he tracks McDougall’s and Scott’s voices (11) after deciding they mean him no harm. Sherman’s initial condition provides an acute portrait of suffering, one which McDougall wants to linger throughout the narrative as representative of internal suffering and also as a continual marker of how far Sherman has progressed. Sherman’s journey to racer burro illustrates one of the primary themes of the book, The Therapeutic Aspect of Sport.

Sherman’s inability to speak for himself leads to several characters needing to speak for Sherman, and in doing so they further flesh out the character of the indomitable little donkey. One of the most important moments is during McDougall’s trip to Colorado with Karin and Linda. While McDougall originally characterizes Sherman’s odd behavior in the horse trailer as “stubborn” (284) and Sherman later as a “hardhead” (288), Karin has a deeper understanding of why Sherman chooses to stand in his trailer backwards. Once Karin understands Sherman’s background, she describes to McDougall that Sherman’s way of coping in the truck is to simply bear through it, reaching back to his time spent in the pen unable to move or care for himself. Karin concludes that “[h]e’s not stubborn […] He’s scared” (288).

Coming late in the book, this is a startling moment that reminds the reader that Sherman still wrestles with the trauma of his past and with an owner who fails to recognize what is in his best interest. The moment helps McDougall internalize the notion of perceiving Sherman’s behavior through Sherman’s perspective, and ultimately leads to McDougall’s deeper understanding of, and closer connection to, Sherman.

Tanya and her husband Scott are the first two people to substantially help McDougall with Sherman’s welfare. Scott provides the initial services of cutting and shaping Sherman’s overgrown hooves, as well as providing the first instance of teaching McDougall Sherman’s body language. Tanya, however, is the most impactful character upon McDougall and Sherman’s early development. Her early advice—that McDougall must give Sherman a purpose—launches the narrative quest in the book, and introduces the concept of caring for Sherman’s psychological health as well.

Tanya serves as a practical source of donkey knowledge, and is the first to introduce to McDougall the need to examine the world from Sherman’s perspective. She provides the incredulous voice to McDougall’s early enthusiasm for the World Championship, and comes to stand for the steadiness of support that McDougall receives from his local community. So much so that, when she suffers a separation with Scott and then injures herself, McDougall’s team faces their greatest hurdle, forcing them to broaden their search for help. This crossroads moment in turn widens the community that supports Sherman.

The fierceness of Tanya’s spirit provides the clearest early example to McDougall of the spirit with which he must approach Sherman, matching obstinacy with compassion, empathy, and an imaginative knowledge that anticipates the true nature of the donkey. Tanya’s hardened yet empathetic approach is representative of the matter-of-fact relationship that humans must form with working animals.

When Zeke is introduced to the narrative, he is already in trouble. Before he even appears, McDougall presents him as a concern, and throughout his early appearances he comes to signify the broken and dangerous extreme of abandoned athleticism and a loss of purpose.

McDougall has known Zeke for most of Zeke’s life, having lived close to his non-Amish family in the Southern End. When he appears in the narrative, Zeke is in his early twenties, and has unexpectedly returned from his studies at Penn State after an unsuccessful suicide attempt. McDougall describes Zeke’s struggles with depression after a lifetime of being encouraged to compete in swimming by his high-performing mother. McDougall links Zeke’s affliction to those of other athletes who face similar episodes of depression and suicidal ideation after stopping competing, suffering from the sudden lack of positive hormones and sense of purpose that were regularly produced by their athleticism.

In this manner, Zeke comes to stand for ailing athletes, but also represents a path forward for such people. In connecting with Sherman and taking up a new sport—burro racing—Zeke regains a sense of direction and begins to find fulfillment again through his connections with others. Though Zeke is ultimately unable to compete in the race, his natural compassion, strong will, and enduring relationship with Sherman provide a healing character arc, reflecting The Restorative Power of Connecting with Animals.