All of the ingredients for tragedy were present during those memorable years of 1946-1951, but their innocence shielded them from the grim reality of their circumstances. They never fully realized they were poverty-stricken, culturally disadvantaged, socially outcast, three times the size of the ideal family, and products of a broken home. They just didn't have time to consider all of that "at-risk" data since they were busy trying to survive and enjoy life at the same time. They were often cold, often hungry, often tired, but never bored. One reason was that they had each other and the other reason was that they had so many pets. The Ozark Mountains literally abounded with animals. Some were wild and they tamed them, and some were domestic and they drove them wild. This is where Shadow the donkey enters the story. Or "Shadder" as they called him then.