Ron King
The Donkey Whisperer: How a Media Executive Found Joy in an Unexpected Place
Ron King left a $506 million media portfolio at 51 to discover that joy and enjoyment are not the same thing.
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Ron King
Ron King left a $506 million media portfolio at 51 to discover that joy and enjoyment are not the same thing.
Hear this story
At 51, Ron King walked away from a $506 million media portfolio at Time Inc. to discover something he'd been chasing his whole life without knowing it: the difference between enjoyment and joy. Running seven magazines including InStyle had given him front-row seats at fashion shows in Milan and Paris, first-class travel, and a closet full of Gucci. He enjoyed all of it. But when Time Inc collapsed and he found himself quiet for the first time in years, sitting on a hill in Hopland, California, he realized none of it had brought him joy. Joy, he understood then, came from helping someone else.
Then a TikTok video changed everything. Ron was scrolling through his usual feed of scare pranks and shirtless men when the algorithm served him footage of a woman rescuing donkeys from auction. He learned that six million donkeys a year are slaughtered for their hides, used in a traditional Chinese medicine with no proven benefits. He had a property that was meant to be a farm animal sanctuary. He had resources. He had the skills to build something. Within days, he'd written a business plan and pitched it to Phil Selway, the property owner, over breakfast. By December 5, 2020, three donkeys named Goose, Pickles, and Shadow arrived. Ron fell in love immediately.
Five years later, Oscar's Place has rescued over 400 donkeys. Ron has learned that donkeys are not stubborn or stupid, as cartoons suggest, but intelligent animals that think before they act. They refuse what is unsafe, not out of spite, but out of self-preservation. The hardest part of his work is walking through Texas auction yards knowing he cannot save every donkey and what will happen to the ones he leaves behind. He compartmentalizes that grief by focusing on the animals he does save and the good he is doing every single day. His television series, Donkey King, premieres January 3rd on ABC, telling the stories of individual donkeys and the sanctuary that gave them a second chance.
“I realised that there was a difference between things that I enjoy and things that bring me joy. And that had never occurred to me in 51 years.”
“For me, joy means impact. That had never occurred to me before.”
“When I go to the auction, I can't get them all, and I know the ones that I don't get, I know what's going to happen to them. I say every time I go that I leave a piece of my soul behind.”
The hero, today
Ron discovered at 51 that joy and enjoyment are not the same thing: he could enjoy luxury and fashion shows but never found joy in them until he started helping others. When Ron got quiet enough to hear himself think and open enough to get out of his own way, serendipity had room to happen; the TikTok algorithm shift, Phil's property, and the donkey rescue all aligned. Donkeys are intelligent animals that think before they act, which people mistake for stubbornness; they will refuse something unsafe, not out of spite, but out of self-preservation. Ron does not do legislative work or international advocacy because his mission is focused solely on keeping the donkeys in his care safe, healthy, and happy for their entire lives. Ron compartmentalizes the grief of euthanasia and auction decisions by focusing intentionally on the good he is doing and the animals he is saving, not the ones he cannot reach.
Yes. Ron King is a real person who shared their own story in their own words. Kintsugi Heroes is a not-for-profit that shares first-person stories of overcoming adversity, told with the person's consent.
Kintsugi Heroes, a registered Australian not-for-profit. Every story is shared with the hero's own consent and reviewed under Kintsugi Heroes' trauma-informed content standard before it goes public.
Ron discovered at 51 that joy and enjoyment are not the same thing: he could enjoy luxury and fashion shows but never found joy in them until he started helping others.
When Ron got quiet enough to hear himself think and open enough to get out of his own way, serendipity had room to happen; the TikTok algorithm shift, Phil's property, and the donkey rescue all aligned.
Donkeys are intelligent animals that think before they act, which people mistake for stubbornness; they will refuse something unsafe, not out of spite, but out of self-preservation.
Ron does not do legislative work or international advocacy because his mission is focused solely on keeping the donkeys in his care safe, healthy, and happy for their entire lives.
Natalie Stockdale (Host) · 00:03
Welcome to another episode of Animals and Us, where we explore and honor the awesomeness of animals and our relationships with them. Today we're traveling to a 75-acre haven in Hopland, California, where former media executive Ron King traded red carpets for hay bales. In 2021, Ron co-founded Oscar's Place, a donkey adoption center and sanctuary. In this episode, In this episode, Ron shares how donkeys radically changed his life and reshaped his definition of joy. Hello, Ron, and welcome to Animals and Us.
Ron King (Guest) · 01:01
Thank you for having me.
Natalie Stockdale (Host) · 01:04
Ron, let's start with your early days, your childhood. Where did you grow up, and can you paint a picture of your childhood?
Ron King (Guest) · 01:12
I was born 56 years ago in Arkansas, uh, to very young parents, uh, and I think I had a pretty normal rural small-town American childhood. My father was a religious preacher and yeah, I think it was a relatively normal childhood. I think that, you know, looking back, most of us realize our parents did the best that they could with the tools that they had at the time. And I think that's certainly the case for me. I was very close to my grandparents, so my dad's parents. Were cattle farmers, and my mom's parents were chicken farmers, both in small towns in Arkansas.
Natalie Stockdale (Host) · 02:01
Right, so chickens and cattle, were they your first animals that you were exposed to?
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This conversation includes a rural childhood between two farms, animals as a way to be near the people he loved, from homeless and addicted to the top of time inc, the moment the house of cards became real, time inc falls apart and ron walks out with money and the quiet hill where enjoyment and joy split apart.
Ron King (Guest) · 02:07
Yeah, you know, I think part of this story will be how until 5 years ago, I was never really an animal person. My— both of my grandparents lived on ranches, and I spent quite a bit of time with them. I really saw the animals as a reason to spend time with my grandparents. Like, they were out working and I just liked being with them. And so I remember, you know, going out with my grandfather and birthing baby pigs. And I remember going out with my other grandfather and doing work on the chicken ranch. So I think that for me, farm animals in particular were a means to my grandparents. Um, and just a part of life. And, uh, you know, I had cats and dogs growing up, so I liked animals. I have now met true animal people, and I don't think I fell into that category, uh, until serendipity had its way with me, which I think we'll get to in a little bit.
Natalie Stockdale (Host) · 03:05
And before Oscar's Place and before donkeys entered your life, you had a high-flying corporate career. Can you tell us to tell us about your, your life before donkeys.
Ron King (Guest) · 03:16
So yes, I bounced around. I mean, I've had quite a sordid life, to be honest with you. I was, um, homeless and addicted to drugs when I was 25 years old. And, um, you know, I often think about— I have this philosophy. Are you familiar with the pinball machine? That for a long time in my life, I was the ball inside the pinball machine, just bouncing around. Like, just wherever life took me, I just ended. I didn't have any control. I did finally do the work required to get at the controls of the pinball machine and sort of take control of where my life was going, but I just bounced around. And I got sober and sort of started to piece together a life. And I got a random job just selling advertising for a small magazine. In Atlanta, Georgia called Southern Living Magazine. Not a small magazine, but I had a small job. It just so happened that I got a job in media about the same time that the media industry was being completely uprooted. So everything that had worked in media, sort of all of the Mad Men era philosophies weren't working anymore. I got this job with very little media experience, but a lot of common sense. And I just approached my job with common sense, which in media or in publishing at the time, there wasn't a lot of common sense going on. And so I was— it worked very well for me and I stuck out like a sore thumb. And promotion after promotion after promotion after promotion, they moved me around the country. I spent several years in San Francisco. I ended up in New York. I became publisher of Southern Living, the magazine that I started with several years ago. And so I was running Southern Living and I was able to turn that magazine around and make it a very successful business. And so they gave me 6 other magazines to run. So in the end, I was a senior vice president at Time Inc. And I had 7 magazines in my portfolio. I had multicultural magazines, Essence and People en Español. I had shelter magazines, Sunset, Southern Living, and Coastal Living. And then I had fashion magazines, People, StyleWatch, and InStyle. And it was the fashion magazines that really led to sort of the glamorous life that I was living. So when you run a magazine as important in fashion as InStyle, you go to the fashion shows in Milan and Paris and London twice a year. People really want InStyle to promote their things. And so, You get showered with attention, showered with gifts, and you get ushered in to sit next to Donatella Versace, and you go to lots of celebrity events. So yeah, so I had this big media job. It all kind of happened by accident. I was very fortunate to be successful, and I really— because I kind of always felt like I was pulling one over, I was really conscious to enjoy it because I thought it might not last forever. I really had a lot of fun doing it.
Natalie Stockdale (Host) · 06:22
Brandon, what do you think, what do you attribute to your keys to success in, in that world, in that corporate world?
Ron King (Guest) · 06:31
I think that again, common sense. It's just been my experience that there's a dramatic void of common sense in corporate America or corporate work. Um, I was a good leader and I think that You know, I did an interview not too long ago where I talked about the difference between kindness and niceness. And I said, they're not the same thing to me. And it's way more important to me that I be kind. And I think that clarity is kind. It's not always nice. And so I was a really good boss and I think that fostered people who would work really hard for me. And so yeah, I would think being a good leader, and common sense were probably my two outstanding characteristics.
Natalie Stockdale (Host) · 07:20
Okay. Is there a highlight or one very special moment in your, in your career of fashion and, and style that media that, that you will cherish for the rest of your life? A highlight?
Ron King (Guest) · 07:34
I think that the, all the fashion stuff was super fun. I just felt like I was playing dress-up and I loved it. To me, the highlight was sort of at the peak of the turnaround for Southern Living. Southern Living was a very large brand. We had a very large team and we had a sales meeting to sort of celebrate the turnaround and to celebrate our victory. And I remember giving a speech at that meeting and saying, you know, please look to your right and to your left and please really embrace this moment because all of our hard work has paid off. We see results. We're winning. You like your coworkers, you like your boss, you like the brand you work for. Like right now we are firing on all cylinders and life will not always be like that. And so really, uh, really embrace this moment because it's a very important moment in your life. Um, and of course it was. Yeah. And so Time Inc fell apart and everyone went on to different jobs and I, I have lots of people reach out to me still to this day about that speech and about how true it was that that was such a special moment in time. Yes, yes.
Natalie Stockdale (Host) · 08:46
And Ron, your life radically changed. Can you tell us about the— what, what happened in the lead-up? I think it was just pre, pre-COVID or, or the start of COVID So it was right before COVID So Time Inc.
Ron King (Guest) · 09:01
as a media conglomerate. It was the largest publishing company in the world, uh, and it crumbled, uh, you know, the, the onset of digital media and digital advertising and the lack of ability to adjust. Um, Time Inc. fell apart, and as part of that, I left. Um, and you know, when you're a corporate executive at a big company, you have nice compensation packages, and so I was very happy to walk out the door with some money., and a lot of nice clothes. And I took a little bit of a break and then I started working just some odd jobs. And then COVID hit, uh, and sort of the world shut down. Uh, and I started to get bored. Um, and I have a friend, he was really more of an acquaintance at the time, uh, named Phil Selway. And I admired Phil a lot. He was a very successful person. He's an art dealer. He's a very kind person. I had been at mutual friends' dinners with Phil off and on for maybe 15 years at the time. And I was having, I was sharing a meal with him and he was talking to me about how stressed he was about all kinds of things. People who had done him wrong, people who owed him money, business deals that didn't work out the way he wanted. And I just said to him, look, You're such a good guy. You've worked so hard. You've helped so many people. It doesn't seem right to me that at this stage in your life, you're dealing with anxiety. At this stage in your life, you should be dealing with gratitude. It should be different for you. And I think I could help you. I'm a little bit of a "I can fix your life" type of person. I'm definitely a— I call myself a GSD guy. I'm a get shit done guy. So I kind of know how to do stuff. I don't know why. So why don't you, you know, talk to me about what is stressing you out. Talk to me about the things that have been on your to-do list for a decade and talk to me about your dreams or your vision boards and then let me do some work. So he agreed. So he's like, all right, that'd be great. So I started working for him kind of on, I don't know what you would call that, some sort of a personal coach, development, whatever, a friend. And he said, so I bought this— Phil has been very successful in his life. He wants his legacy on this planet to be one of animal welfare. He contributes to a lot of organizations, small and large, but he wanted something of his own. So he bought a piece of property in Northern California that he wanted to turn into a farm animal sanctuary, and he put somebody there to do that., and that person spent $3 million on a gorgeous house, but there wasn't a fence or a gate or a water line, nor an animal in sight. Yeah. So there was a complete mismanagement of funds and expectation and communication. Their relationship fell apart and that person moved to Mexico. So Phil said, one of the first things you could do for me is to go to Hopland, California, and help me unload this house. I have to give up on this dream. So, uh, but I need to get out from under it. And I thought Hopland, the town of Hopland has a population of 850, 851 now. So it's a very small town and I'm not a small town boy, or at least I haven't been since I was 6. And so I wasn't really that interested, but it was COVID. The whole world was shut down. So nobody was going to the movie theater. Nobody's going out for sushi. And I thought, Well, there are worse places to be quarantined. So I was like, all right, I'll go up there for 3 months. I'll give you 3 months of my life and I'll try my best to sell this place. So on October 1st, 2020, I drove from Los Angeles to Hopland, California, uh, and I moved into this big gorgeous house and I met with real estate agents and I put some chickens in the chicken coop. And sort of staged it to sell to some rich city people from San Francisco. Um, and a couple of things happened to me. So, so that's how I got to Hopland. Uh, I still got here very much in my Gucci media mindset. And then a couple of things happened to me my first month in Hopland. One is it's very peaceful here. And so I often explain to people that my head is like a snow globe and it never stops shaking. And I think because I can't drink, I don't drink wine or I don't eat gummies or I don't, you know, smoke marijuana. I don't do anything to calm my brain. And so it's just constantly being shook. And because it was quiet out here, I sat still for long enough that the snow globe settled. And that was noticeable to me. And then I, one of my best friends, a woman named Evelyn Webster, questions me, had questioned me for a couple years, and she said, "You know, Ron, I would really like for you to find what brings you joy." And I thought, I love Evelyn, but I found the question really annoying because I was like, I fly first class everywhere I go. I drive a $120,000 Mercedes. I sit front row at Versace next to Donatella Versace. I wear Gucci every day. Like, "I am full of joy, Evelyn." And I meant it. I really meant like, what more could I ask for? Like, my life is full of joy. But when I was out here and my head got quiet, I was going for a walk and I very specifically remember where I was on this walk. And I thought, why does she keep asking me that? And it occurred to me at the age of 51 at the time, that there was a difference between things that I enjoy and things that bring me joy. And that had never occurred to me in 51 years. I thought enjoyment and joy were the same thing. And I sat down on the ground and I was like, so if I enjoy Mercedes and fashion and first class, I do enjoy those things, but they don't bring me joy, do they? So I realized I've been going about this all wrong. I realized that I had been working really hard to fill my life with things that I enjoyed because I thought that's what you were supposed to do, but that those things weren't bringing me joy. So then I was like, I got this all wrong and I'm 51 years old. And so on that, sitting on that hill, I thought, "All right, so what is joy?" And I thought, "All right, so think back. When have you experienced joy?" And I distinctly went to 3 times in my life. And what all 3 of those times had in common was that I was helping somebody. I was having an impact on something that had nothing to do with me. And I was like, "Oh." For me, joy means impact. That had never occurred to me before. So then over the next couple days, I just remember thinking like, wow, you're pretty stupid, Ron. And wow, I can't believe you've been doing this all wrong. I'm like, okay, so what does it mean? What does it look like to have a life of impact? How am I going to do that? What am I going to do? And then I was laying out by the swimming pool just days later. In a Gucci swimsuit, and I was scrolling TikTok. And my TikTok algorithm knows me very well. So my TikTok algorithm is full of two categories: men without shirts on and people getting scared. I love to see people get scared. It makes me laugh so hard. So I watch scare pranks all day long. So that's all I get on TikTok. So I'm scrolling, looking at men without shirts and people getting scared. And I get a video of a woman at a donkey auction rescuing donkeys. And I thought, what? Why are people slaughtering donkeys? Why did I get this video? So I Googled, why are people slaughtering donkeys? And I was taken to NPR and I read an article on NPR and a couple of things stuck out for me. One is that nobody thinks about the donkey. The donkey is like a hardworking, emotional, sturdy being. But because they don't win the Kentucky Derby, because they don't win races, because they don't drive advertising dollars, because they're not very useful anymore, no one's thinking about them. And to be honest, that triggered something in me about my childhood, like sort of the underdog or the unsung hero or, you know, the— so I thought that was bad. And then of course they're being slaughtered for a Chinese herb that has no proven benefits whatsoever. I thought that was bad. And then it just all hit me. I was like, I'm sitting on a property that somebody wanted to turn into a farm animal sanctuary. This person wants their legacy on this planet to be animal welfare.
Natalie Stockdale (Host) · 18:15
Yes.
Ron King (Guest) · 18:16
I've decided I need to have impact. I don't really like people that much anymore. Donkeys need help. I could have impact on donkeys with these resources. And I went in and I asked Phil when he was coming. He was coming up the following Sunday. I asked him if we could have breakfast. And then between whatever day that was of the week, Tuesday or Wednesday, between whatever day that was and our breakfast on Sunday, I wrote a business plan. Um, and I sat Phil down and I said, so my proposition is that you take your property off the market. I'm going to live here full-time and I'm going to rescue donkeys. I'm gonna make your legacy come true. You don't have to give up on this dream. And that's how I'm gonna have impact and it's how I'm gonna find joy. And keep in mind that I was a little bit of a corporate douchebag before, and that I was definitely a diva. And like somebody came to my office every Tuesday and gave me manicures at my desk. Like, I don't think, I think Phil was so shocked at what I was saying that he didn't know what to say. So he kind of like dumbly nodded and I just took that as a yes. And he said, but have you even talked to this TikTok woman? And I said, of course not. I needed to make sure you were willing first. And I walked outside of the restaurant that morning and I Googled her and I called her establishment. I said, I'm Ron King. I have a property in Northern California. If you rescue donkeys, do you need somewhere to take them? Because you can bring them to me. And she said, that would be amazing. I went back, I sat down at the table, I said, we've got donkeys. And that was probably end of November. On December 5th. So then he said, let's, let's do this. He very cautiously said, let's do this.
Natalie Stockdale (Host) · 20:02
Fantastic.
Ron King (Guest) · 20:02
Then I realized, oh, I've never met a donkey in my life. What if I don't like them? And so I called this person, her name is Talia. I called Talia and I said, before you send me a trailer full, can you send me 3? So she sent me 3: Goose, Pickles, and Shadow. They arrived on December 5th, 2020. I fell madly in love with them. Oscar's Place was formed on January 1st, 2021. Our first trailer arrived on January 5th, 2021, and we are now over 400 donkeys saved, almost 5 years old.
Natalie Stockdale (Host) · 20:37
Fantastic.
Ron King (Guest) · 20:38
That's how it happened.
Natalie Stockdale (Host) · 20:40
What an amazing story. Amazing. All the stars, the stars aligned.
Ron King (Guest) · 20:45
People don't believe me, and I know why. It sounds unbelievable, um, but that's, that's how it happened. So now I'm a donkey guy, and I couldn't be happier. I'm totally full of joy. I am also exhausted. I've never worked harder. Uh, this is way harder than I thought, but the joy is just It's just present every day of my life, and that's why I got into this, right?
Natalie Stockdale (Host) · 21:13
So as you're making impact, and no doubt enjoying the company of the donkeys as well, that the connection—
Ron King (Guest) · 21:22
they're amazing. Goose Pickle and Shadow, the first three I met, they still live here. They'll live here forever, right?
Natalie Stockdale (Host) · 21:29
Yeah. What do you love about them? What's, what's so special?
Ron King (Guest) · 21:33
Donkeys um, are really emotional animals. So there's some science behind this. So the part of the brain that processes emotion is called the limbic system, and the limbic system in a donkey brain is the same size as a human brain. So they have very enhanced emotional capability, more emotional than a horse. In many ways, donkeys are more dog-like than horse-like. Um, it's also where the sense of fight or flight lives, and so You know, where a horse's instinct— and I love horses, but a horse's instinct is to kick and run and then think. Donkeys think, and if they don't like a situation, they leave. They don't kick you. I've never had a single visitor kicked by donkey. Um, and I think, you know, as I've shared with you, it was total serendipity or total chance that I got into donkeys. Um, but I feel so lucky because I have rescued all these donkeys. All of these donkeys Most, I would say 90% of my donkeys were destined for slaughter and I rescued them from a really horrible situation and brought them here. I fully believe my donkeys are telling me thank you. I think they're fully capable of understanding they were in a bad situation. This dude with big hair showed up. Next thing they know, they're in a really nice, peaceful place, getting hugs all the time. And so I walk out there every day, um, and I just get smothered in love. I get smothered in animals saying thank you. And it's an incredible feeling.
Natalie Stockdale (Host) · 23:02
Oh, I bet it is. Ron, can we just go back to the time where you did by chance come across that TikTok video of the donkeys instead of your usual type of videos? What— how do you make sense of that? Because it was just such a strange thing.
Ron King (Guest) · 23:19
I mean, I have thought about it a lot because of course, you know, I call it serendipity. I definitely think people could call it a higher power. Some people could just call it chance. But I think a couple things happened. One is I got out of my own way. And like, I was so convinced what my next job was gonna be. I was so convinced that I was gonna be a high-powered media executive living in New York City. And I was only taking those interviews. And I was only having that networking because I knew what was best for me. Um, and then when I was out here, because of COVID because of my thought process, because of realizing the difference between joy and enjoyment, because I just stopped for a moment and got out of my own way— I mean, really magical stuff can happen when you get out of your own way. Um, so I think that was part of it. I think that the mind being quiet I'm not so sure if my mind was in full snow globe mode, if I would have stopped on that video. So there's all types of things involved. And then, you know, my mother told me from the time I was 5 years old, you can do anything you put your mind to. You are a very special young man and you are capable of doing anything you put your mind to. And when parents tell you things, good or bad, you believe them. And my mother said it so matter of fact that I grew up fully believing in my capability. So I didn't question if I could launch and run a donkey sanctuary. I knew I could. I had no idea what I was doing, but I knew I could do it. And so I think, you know, I was quiet enough and wise enough to get out of my own way and to be open to something different than what I thought was right. And then I had the belief in myself to make it happen.
Natalie Stockdale (Host) · 25:23
So one of your mantra that you live by now is trust and let go. What do you actually trust? What do you trust, yourself or something higher than you?
Ron King (Guest) · 25:36
Yeah, I mean, I have a lot of trust in myself. I have a lot of trust in, you know, I believe that if I do I do the very best job that I can every day. And if I don't cut any corners, uh, and if I show up fully and completely, like the, the way you do one thing is the way you do everything. Like if I just show up and do the best I can, and when I don't do a great job, fix it and keep doing the best I can, that you will end up where you're supposed to end up. So even in business planning, I'm not a big fan of 1, 3, 5-year plans. Because I kind of think my plan is to do the very best I can every single day. And I think a 1-year plan or a 3-year plan or a 5-year plan will sell yourself short. And the same personally, like, um, you know, I was encouraged when I was getting sober to put where I wanted to be in a box, write it down and put it in a box. And I always thought, I don't think I can think big enough of where I want to be, so I don't really want to put it in a box. Um, so I think just being open I, I, I, I trust that if I work really hard and do what's right and don't cut corners, that my life is going to work out exactly how it's supposed to work out.
Natalie Stockdale (Host) · 26:49
And as you just said, and do what's right, so do you mean by that doing, working with, and living with integrity?
Ron King (Guest) · 26:56
Everything. I mean, and, and, and it's, it's what I do, and it's, it's also our guiding principles of Oscar's Place. And so we're now an employer of 17. And we have guiding principles that I walk the team through a couple times a year. And everything we do is authentic and everything we do is with integrity. And even the world of fundraising is a very tricky world. And we are so honest and so transparent. We have what's called guardians. So people who give us monthly donations, they get to sponsor a donkey. And it's a really important part of our business model because monthly donations help you plan a budget. But multiple times a year, we run a report to find everyone who's given us multiple monthly donations, and we reach out to them and we say, "It has occurred to us that you have 3 donations every month. If by chance this is not what you want, please call us so we can fix it." Because, you know, these fundraising online things are complicated, and a lot of our followers are older, and it is remarkable the response we get. Almost all of them want to be sponsoring multiple donkeys. But then when we call them, they give us more money because they just can't believe we bothered to call and try to right something, right an accident that wasn't our fault. And so integrity is a critical part of me, uh, and, and the brand that I lead.
Natalie Stockdale (Host) · 28:23
Wonderful. Ron, let's go back to donkeys. You've described what they— why, why you love them, um, and, and what what their, their personality is like. They're emotional. They don't kick like horses. Can you tell us about the plight of donkeys, which, which your organization is, um, is helping?
Ron King (Guest) · 28:46
Yes. First, I'll show you— this is just a photo somebody took yesterday. So this is my donkey, Viejo, and this is what he does every single time he sees me. And we were out filming something yesterday, and somebody took this picture, and Like, that's a smile. That's a hug. Like, that is the emotion of a donkey. Yeah.
Natalie Stockdale (Host) · 29:06
Beautiful.
Ron King (Guest) · 29:08
Yeah, they're amazing.
Natalie Stockdale (Host) · 29:09
Um, the plight of donkeys.
Ron King (Guest) · 29:11
Yeah, so, uh, donkeys are being slaughtered in massive numbers for their hides. Their hides are used in a traditional Chinese medicine called yizhao. Um, yizhao skyrocketed to popularity because it was on a Chinese television show.. And, you know, all these women said, we take yjau to stay young and beautiful. And so sales skyrocketed. The Donkey Sanctuary in the UK has done a study. They've— they're really big on research around the yjau trade. They've upped the number to 6 million donkeys a year being slaughtered to keep up with the demand for yjau. So it's a massive number. Um, and it's just donkey and it's really just for their hide. So yeah, so that's what's going on. And it means different things in different countries. And so in Africa, where families rely on their donkeys to get their children to school or to get waters to their home, their donkeys are being stolen in the middle of the night to be sold into the slaughter pipeline. In the US, they're rounding up wild donkeys on federal land Um, and they're overbreeding, which is not a very smart business, but we can talk about that a little bit later. But, um, so it means different things in different countries, and it is illegal to slaughter equine in the United States. And so the auction that I go to is where— it's in Texas, and it's on the border of Mexico, and is where the Mexican slaughterhouse comes to buy donkey and ship them across the border. Wow.
Natalie Stockdale (Host) · 30:49
So are there— are people breeding, breeding donkeys for this?
Ron King (Guest) · 30:54
People are breeding donkeys, and the Chinese are trying to figure this out as well. Um, the problem with it is that the donkey is pregnant for 14 months, so next to the elephant, it's the second longest gestation period. And so it's not a very good business model, is it, that you have to wait 14 months for your product? And so the, the breeding of donkeys it does— isn't really working out for the people trying to do it. What that does mean is that we have lots of babies here, and so they get bred and then we rescue them from the auction where they're all together. We don't do any breeding here. We castrate all of our boys upon arrival, but these girls are pregnant when they arrive, and in most cases we don't even know it for a year, um, and then they have babies and, um, It's wonderful. Babies are really lovely. It also, um, it's heartbreaking because for the first half of their pregnancy, they're very stressed and getting poor nutrition. So we have lots of complications. But, um, but yeah, we have lots of babies. So the breeding of donkeys for the Yizhao trade is not a very good business. Um, and I don't think they'll try too hard to figure that out.
Natalie Stockdale (Host) · 32:06
Do you do any advocacy work or education, any outreach work in China to try to address the demand?
Ron King (Guest) · 32:14
I don't. And, you know, I got really clear early on. Lots of people wanted me to do lots of things, and I was saying yes to everything. And lots of people wanted me to help veterans and have veterans come out and work with donkeys. Lots of people wanted me to work with children with special needs. Lots of people wanted me to take donkeys into parades. Lots of people wanted me to let them come and sing to the donkeys. Lots of people wanted donkeys as emotional healers, donkeys as physical healers, donkeys as racers. And I was like, oh, I need to get really clear on my northern star, on my mission, because I'm not going to be good at everything if I try to do everything. So my mission is for every donkey that makes its way to Oscar's Place, I will do everything in my power to keep that donkey safe, healthy, and happy for the rest of its life. So I'm very focused on the donkeys that are here. Um, to do legislative work or even international work, I would have to live in Washington, DC. I couldn't have donkeys. So it's different. Now, there are organizations out there that do, um, and we try to be as helpful as we can for them and as supportive as we can. The Donkey Sanctuary in the UK is a huge advocacy group behind the Yizhou trade, and I've flown to DC a couple times and met with senators, and there's an Yizhou Act and Uh, there's a couple different forms of legislation, but that's not my forte. Caring for donkeys is my forte. I do think that I can get people to love donkeys and to care about donkeys, so I can do a lot for donkeys in the court of public opinion. Yes, so that when the others are doing all the legislative work, it gets more support.
Natalie Stockdale (Host) · 33:57
Ron, um, can you— let's debunk some myths about donkeys. Um, are they truly stubborn? Are they stubborn?
Ron King (Guest) · 34:06
Yeah, so people think donkeys are stupid and stubborn, um, and they— and dangerous, and they are not even remotely any of those things. It's so fascinating. So I sort of blame it on cartoons from 100 years ago. Like, at some point someone created a donkey character And it just stood as fact. It's so fascinating to me. But a donkey, because a donkey is so smart, if every time a donkey got onto the trailer someone did something bad to it, it's going to stop getting on that trailer. Yes, that's intelligence, not stupidity.
Natalie Stockdale (Host) · 34:50
Yes, that's right.
Ron King (Guest) · 34:52
So they look at a situation and if they're like, oh no, this doesn't look like it's it's going to end well for me, they won't do it. But that's because they're smart. Um, so they're not stubborn, they're not stupid, and they're not dangerous. So we have all been kicked and bitten, but you know, we are doing medical procedures and, and, uh, restricting movement and doing stuff that's very frightening to the donkey. Our visitors have never been— you can stand The dirty little secret, two things that are interesting about donkeys. They have 360-degree vision. Well, I think they call it 355-degree vision. The only thing they can't see is when you stand directly in front of them, but they can see completely behind them. So when you're behind a donkey, they know you're back there. Um, and their back hips are double-jointed, so they can kick forward with their back legs as much as they can kick backward. So lots of people say to me, why do you stand behind your donkey? And I'm like, well, there's no safe place to stand. They can mess you up wherever you are, uh, but donkeys don't. Donkeys will not strike out for no reason. If you're not trying to hurt a donkey, a donkey is not going to try to hurt you, and that's different than a horse. And it's not that the horse is trying to hurt you because it's malicious, it's the horse's instinct to kick and run. It's not the donkey's instinct. And so, um, they're not dangerous, they're not stupid, and they're not stubborn. Like, not even remotely. They're the opposite of those three things. It's fascinating.
Natalie Stockdale (Host) · 36:22
Yeah. Wow. Ron, do you have a favorite donkey or one or a couple of favorite donkeys? You mentioned the original three earlier.
Ron King (Guest) · 36:31
I have a couple favorites. So that picture I showed you is Viejo. Viejo is my personal donkey. I met him on January 5th, 2021. So he was in the— after the first 3 came, he was in that first trailer that came. And, you know, the trailer ride from Texas is between 34 and 40 hours. So this donkey was in a scary auction and then put on a scary trailer and then driven for 35 hours. And then he walked off. Yeah, to an unknown place. Then he walked off the trailer. He walked right up to me and he put his head in my chest. Immediately off the trailer, and I was like, okay, well, that's my donkey. Um, I named him Viejo, which means old in Spanish, because he's gray. He isn't that old, he just— he's just gray. Um, and he is the sweetest. He knows his name. I sit here and work. So this is a donkey field behind me. They're all eating at the moment. Um, But he knows where I work. He sits on the fence line and stares at me all day. Um, he's just, uh, he is my best friend. And, uh, and when I have tough days, and I have a lot of tough days, um, I go and sit with Viejo, um, and it makes everything better. So I would say Viejo is my closest friend at the age of 56. Wow. I don't really feel embarrassed about that. Um, and then there's different ones that are super sweet. At the moment we have an orphan, actually our first ever orphan, and I had to container feed her every 2 hours for several months. She is now just over 3 months old and she's super sweet. And, uh, all the babies are super sweet. Uh, So her name is Roxanne, and she, she's amazing. But I do love all my donkeys, and we have a lot of donkeys who want nothing to do with people despite the fact that we treat— treated them really well for sometimes 3, 4, or almost 5 years. And we don't push it on them. If you don't want human interaction, you don't have to do it. So we have various pastures and locations where donkeys can go live where they're not forced to interact with humans. You know, we will round them up twice a year and we run them through a chute system so we can get hoof care and give them shots. But if you're not a cuddler, we don't force you to cuddle.
Natalie Stockdale (Host) · 39:03
Yeah. Yeah. Ron, you mentioned challenges. You said sometimes you have some really hard days. What would be one of your main challenges that, that—
Ron King (Guest) · 39:13
I mean, I think life and death, life and death decisions are the worst part of this job to me. So when I go to the auction, I can't get them all, and I know the ones that I don't get, I know what's going to happen to them. I've seen the videos. I know who's buying them. And so when I go to Texas and I'm walking around this auction yard full of people not being nice to animals, and I meet all these donkeys, and I'm building a list, and that is one of the hardest things that I do. Um, and I say every time I go— I've probably been 6 times now in 5 years— and I say every time I go that I leave a piece of my soul behind. And so I don't have an unlimited number of auctions in me. I don't know what that number is, but it does, it does kill part of my soul every time I go. And then, you know, euthanasia is a very difficult decision um, and it evolves over time. And I do it with the consultation of veterinarians. I don't do it on my own. But, you know, I don't— donkeys don't come to Oscar's Place to suffer. And so, but unfortunately, they don't speak English. And so reading the signs, making decisions on when to end life is very difficult. And then some that want to die, it's a little bit easier. Some, when they have a will to live but they have 3 feet that won't work, or they have a colon that's impacted, that's just— it's just terrible. Um, and I'm, I'm in the fetal position on my couch every single time I make that decision. Um, but it is part of the job and it is my responsibility and, um, and it is the right decision. So, but it's not any fun.
Natalie Stockdale (Host) · 41:16
No, no, it wouldn't be. So you mentioned that you go and hang out, sit down with, with your donkey friend, best friend, to help you cope. What else do you do to help you, help you deal with that grief and that heartbreaking decision-making?
Ron King (Guest) · 41:34
I mean, I exercise a lot. Um, I mostly do that because I'm 56 years old and this job is very, um, physically intense. Like, I fall down a lot, I get knocked over a lot, and so I try really hard to prevent injury. Um, and I'm really focused, you know, I think that Maybe in the world of psychology, compartmentalization is a bad idea. So I would imagine most psychologists say the problem with you and your personal life is that you compartmentalize. And I can understand that. In the world of animal rescue, I think compartmentalization is required. So I really focus on the good I'm doing. Yes. And I really think about the difference that I'm making.
Natalie Stockdale (Host) · 42:22
Yes.
Ron King (Guest) · 42:24
And when I have good days and when I have happy animals, I really hold on to that. And I make bad decisions— I mean, I make hard decisions or difficult decisions, but I don't hold on to them because you can't keep going if you do. So I do compartmentalize, whether it's healthy or not, and I just really focus on how much good I'm doing.
Natalie Stockdale (Host) · 42:45
Yeah, very good advice, Ron. Let's move now on to your exciting new project, the television series. Can you tell us about that?
Ron King (Guest) · 42:55
Yep. So when I launched for almost 5 years ago, um, I got lots of press. So people thought it was very funny that somebody wearing Alexander McQueen was out scooping donkey poop. So we got lots of press, and I was really grateful because, you know, we survive on donations, and so it rose awareness of our organization and Oprah Winfrey did a piece on us and the Washington Post did a piece on us. But CBS came out and did an interview and a walkabout, and they put it together on CBS Mornings. It was an 8-minute segment on me and Oscar's Place. And in that 8 minutes, I raised $200,000 in 8 minutes. Wow. And to this day, 3 years later, it's still our number one source of discovery. I have more people tell me every week They saw me on CBS Mornings than any other source of discovery. So when that happened, I thought, well, I didn't know people still watch TV. We need a TV strategy because in the world of animal charities, we're all going after the same people. So what you typically do is you buy a list of people. You say, I want to buy people 40 plus that have a household income of $75,000 plus. And an affinity for animals. And you buy that list and you send them electronic communication or physical communication. But we are all buying the same list. And so people who have money and love animals, they are getting bombarded from charities asking them for money. So I decided to take the approach of having people find me as opposed to me go find people. So if I can get on TV, then if you love donkeys and you have money and you want to give it to me, you can do that. And I think that's a way to not be beating the same people over the head asking them for money. So it's been a very long process. My timing has been terrible. When I decided to do a TV show, all of Hollywood fell apart. There was a giant merger between Warner Brothers and Discovery and half the industry got laid off and nobody is making decisions and nobody is producing content. Nobody is buying content. So It's been a rough couple of years, but we filmed during that time anyway. And now that Hollywood is coming back, the networks need television shows, but nobody's been producing television shows, but I have, and I have one and it's ready. So just a couple weeks ago, we closed a distribution deal with ABC Television. We're gonna premiere on January 3rd, They're 30-minute episodes and there's 17 of them. So, it's 4 months of season 1. It's called Donkey King. My last name is King. And so, it just kind of made sense. So, it's called Donkey King. It premieres on January 3rd. And it is not necessarily about me. We tell donkey stories. So, our donkey, Hura, we tell his story. Our donkey Rosie, we tell her story. Where did we meet her? What was wrong with her? How did we help her? Where is she now? So we're telling donkey stories because people are going to get bored of me after episode 3. But donkey story after donkey story after donkey story, we can go on for seasons doing that. And so, uh, it's delightful. It's, you know, I was really committed to feel-good television. I want to be the Ted Lasso of reality television. We are not getting drunk and having sex with each other. We are not fighting. We are not making jokes out of the animals. It is sweet and heartwarming, a little bit nerve-wracking sometimes. Um, hmm. But it's— we're gonna spread joy and we're gonna change the narrative about donkeys.
Natalie Stockdale (Host) · 46:51
Fantastic. Ron, let's just pause for a moment and we'll watch your— the trailer of Donkey King.
Ron King (Guest) · 46:57
Everybody loves donkeys.
Natalie Stockdale (Host) · 46:59
Hey, buddy. They just might not know it yet.
Ron King (Guest) · 47:04
Donkeys have a reputation for being stubborn, but they're very intelligent. They put off an energy that you can feel, whether it's curiosity, love and gratitude, frustration. Ooh, hey now. When they relax, they exhale and their head gets really heavy. They have so much personality. I have never worked harder in my life. Hang in there. And I've never been happier. I was a media executive. I ran 7 magazines. My portfolio was $506 million. Fashion shows twice a year in Milan. Completely different life, and I'm really glad I lived it. One day I saw a video of a woman. She wanted to save all these donkeys, but she she had nowhere to take them. A donkey had never entered my mind ever, and I thought, animals bring me joy, having impact brings me joy. I called her, I said, I have a farm, if you rescue donkeys, will you bring them to me? And we launched Oscar's Place. I have run massive businesses in my life. I really thought this would be a walk in the park. So Goose is a nibbler, and he will eat your camera. Everyone else is pretty sweet. When we bring in new donkeys, our lives are turned upside down for 60 days. 30 new animals to learn. Many of them are sick, testing and taking to the hospital. Good girl. Lice treatment, parasites, literally starving to death. Good girl. Then the emotional rehabilitation starts, and that's different work. There you go. No matter what your job is, 50% of your day needs to be hands-on donkey. The time that you spend with them, the feeding them day in and day out, they give back. Oh, man, look at that smile. I have a very special relationship We're a small but a very hardworking team. When I got here, Ron busted out a clipboard, an Excel sheet.
Natalie Stockdale (Host) · 48:46
Okay, here's the city slicker. I don't know how long this is gonna last. And oh my gosh, he has put his heart and soul into this place.
Ron King (Guest) · 48:54
Parte de mi trabajo es también medicarlos.
Natalie Stockdale (Host) · 48:57
I mean, this guy here won't leave me alone.
Ron King (Guest) · 49:00
Really, I work for the donkeys, and I work for Ron. Viejo, there's someone over here almost as good-looking as you. You wanna go say hi? These donkeys will thrive and be happier as a member of a family. We have a very strict adoption policy. If somebody says to me, "Oh, I want two medium brown ones with dark stripes," I deny their application because it sounds like a Gap catalog. One of my very favorite donkeys has been adopted, and I nursed him back to health, and I don't want to say goodbye. My mission is If you're here, I've got you. You good? There's 6 of us. In year 1, we have saved 100 donkeys. What a good boy. They deserve to live a life without fear and abuse. Good morning. And I know what steps to take to make that happen.
Natalie Stockdale (Host) · 49:48
So I do it. Hi, Patches. Wonderful trailer, thanks. For sharing that, Ron. Ron, what do you hope the audience of Donkey King will, will gain from, from the series?
Ron King (Guest) · 50:06
My intentions behind Donkey King are twofold. One is to raise awareness of what we're doing and raise money. So I'm building an organization that will be around 50 years after I'm gone, and, and so we need donors and, and monthly donors and legacy donors and endowments. And so It is a financial decision for the good of the company. Uh, and I want to change the narrative around donkeys. So we talked earlier about them, how people think they're stubborn, stupid, and dangerous. And I would just like people to stop. I want to introduce the world to their new favorite animal because the more people I can get to fall in love with donkeys, then the more people that will adopt them, the more people that will vote against Yi Zhao. Legislation. Um, I just want people to care. And then the other side of that, I have found that by accident my story is really helpful to people my age. I have found that telling people at 50 you can start a brand new chapter, and at 50 you can have no idea what you're doing, and at 50 you can take big risk and how important it is to find joy. And so I think that my journey, I didn't want to be an inspiring person. I certainly don't consider myself to be a motivational speaker type person, but if sharing my journey inspires people to find their own joy, that's a huge win for me as well. There's a personal side of it as well, which is please find joy.
Natalie Stockdale (Host) · 51:49
Yes, yes. What was one final question, Ron? What's your key message to the audience about animals?
Ron King (Guest) · 52:01
I mean, I'm really focused on donkeys, and so my key message is donkeys are amazing. They are emotional, intelligent creatures that not a lot of people are looking out for, and, uh, and they need to be looked out for. So I want people to fall in love with donkeys.
Natalie Stockdale (Host) · 52:22
Yes, thank you, Ron. And Ron, for people in the audience who might want to support Oscar's Place, how can they get in touch, or how can they find you on the internet?
Ron King (Guest) · 52:32
The easiest thing to do is on the internet, just go to oscarsplace.org. So the 3 letters after the dot are O-R-G, OscarsPlace.org, and all of the information is there. You can support us through donations. You can support us through our social media and sharing. Um, you could tune into Donkey King when it launches. That would be a huge support. Um, so support looks a lot of different ways. We do have volunteers and visitors. Um, so just getting involved. Or finding a donkey place near you to get involved would also be great.
Natalie Stockdale (Host) · 53:08
Wonderful. Ron, thank you very much for sharing your story. You're very humble. I think it's very inspirational.
Ron King (Guest) · 53:15
Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you for having me. It was really fun. Follow the Sun. Animals and Us is a production of Kintsugi Heroes. Thank you to Xavier Rudd for his permission to use Follow the Sun. As our theme music for this series. If you enjoyed this conversation, share the podcast with a friend and let us know by leaving a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you'd like to support Kintsugi Heroes and the stories we share, head to kintsugiheroes.com.au and follow the instructions to make a tax-deductible donation. Thank you for listening, and we'll see you next time. Brand new moon, brand new sun.
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