similarly dr gv gokhale who is part of the spca was surprised to hear the request too surprised and happy both that a child wanted to adopt an animal which is unnecessarily despised by everyone but i never had any doubt about the genuine bond alina shares with animals says dr gokhale donkey as a pet in india is almost unheard of many consider it a taboo salim said i understood the cultural difference for alina and asked her why would she even consider a donkey when other animals are available he looks towards her daughter while finishing the sentence and both seem to be taken back in time when they actually had that conversation smiling again alina continues from where salim left off i told my dad that even the first president of the usa kept a donkey in the whitehouse in fact the symbol for the democrats is a donkey and that of the republicans is an elephant but it was a tough job convincing alinas paternal grandmother who with 92 summers behind her is still in the pink of health and has a strong mind salim with a furrowed brow says my mother was furious when she heard alinas request and said never has a donkey had entered our property the moment she said no tears started flowing from alinas eyes on seeing the tears my mother changed her decision something which has probably never happened before the very next day the ibrahim family was at the animal shelter completing formalities to bring gracie home when we started with gracie from the shelter the entourage resembled a marriage procession she was placed in a pick up truck with some people while the family members followed in separate cars i seriously doubt that the passersby had ever seen anything like that before says salim as he watches his younger daughter aarias futile attempts to hold the dog and cat together the moment they entered the gates there was chaos alina laughs as she recalls the reaction of her other pets the dogs had never seen a donkey before and were running helterskelter gracie too was unnerved because of the new surroundings and was hardly responding to us but in a few days everything was back to normal said alina it has been just over two weeks for gracie at her new home and she has already moved up the social ladder gracie has become best buddies with one of the dogs biscuit the other dogs still stay away but i think she is fast making inroads into the dog clique here she has also struck a rapport with my younger sister aaira who has been trying to get gracie to wear a cap in the sun there is no doubt that gracie is living a charmed life eating branded biscuits dog food fresh green grass and even a special fodder the young donkey looks extremely healthy just watching alina and gracie together you could sense a bond of