Reunions are almost always a moving occasion to witness, be it between friends, parents and children, or humans and animals. Being separated from our loved ones is one of the hardest experiences we can go through, and this only makes the act of reuniting oh so sweet.
A man from Malaga, Spain, named Ismael Fernández knows this all too well. Ever since the start of the novel coronavirus pandemic, he has been away from his beloved donkey Baldo, short for Baldomera.
During the lockdown, the five-year-old animal was under the care of his brother, and the two siblings kept in touch through video chats. Even then, Ismael, who lives about 20 miles away from the hill where Baldo lives, is worried that the donkey wouldn’t recognize him when they finally see each other again.
But that uncertainty was quickly erased when the time came for them to meet again. The entire country of Spain has been locked down for almost two months, so when the quarantine order began to finally ease up in parts of the south, Ismael wasted no time and came to the countryside to visit his old friend.
The moving reunion was captured on video, and it’s emotional enough to make anyone cry!
“Baldo!” Ismael calls out in Spanish. “Hello! What’s up? Hello! Where are you? Where is my little donkey?”
The clip shows Baldo climbing slowly but surely up the hillside where his favorite human was standing. As the burro draws closer to his best friend, we can hear the excitement in Ismael’s voice.
“What’s up? Where have you been? More like, where have I been, right?” he said in the video.
As Ismael begins scratching Baldo’s head, he gets choked up. Being away from our loved ones is difficult, especially in times of crisis. So we can totally relate to what he’s feeling!
As it turns out, it’s not only Ismael who felt the pain of their separation. Baldo seemed to be waiting for the day he’d see his owner again, and when he finally did, he couldn’t help but let out his emotions. Moments after their reunion, the burro threw back his head and brayed. It sounded as if he was crying alongside his friend!
“I’ve missed you too, eh?” Ismael says.
Ismael said he’s not embarrassed to be heard crying in the video because their moving reunion is one of the best demonstrations of “unconditional love that exists.”
These two friends are the epitome of adorable! Ismael even maintains a special Instagram account for Baldo. The profile’s bio says that the burro hates barley and fresh fruit and loves wheat and straw. He also shares many pictures and videos of Baldo and their adventures together. It’s clear from his posts that they share a very special relationship!
During days of uncertainty, taking the time to appreciate beautiful encounters such as this is very important. Once this is all over, we can only hope that we experience a reunion like this with our own loved ones.
You can watch their heartfelt reunion in the video below.