This was the first shot I got of the donkey; so that's why I selected it as my "pick". More photos came later.

The reason he has made my Top Twelve in 2012 list is based on my memorable experience with him.
After having lunch on a delightful, little estate in the Italian Countryside, I took a stroll around the grounds. That's when I met a woman who asked if I knew where the Ladies Room might be. She had petted this gentle looking critter and wanted to wash her hands. Thinking "Photo Opt", I searched out the donkey.

With a fence between me and the donkey, photography was however somewhat difficult. Still, I managed to get a number of respectable photographs of him. He seemed calm and gentle and not interested.

The donkey only became interested in me when I leaned close to the fence to get some head shots. At that point, he stuck his nose through the fence and grabbed me firmly by my vest.
Short of time and not wanting the vest torn (I needed to wear it for the rest of my trip),
my immediate reaction was to let the camera fall to my side & just grab the donkey's muzzle with both of my hands. I didn't want to hurt the donkey, but I also didn't want him to chew a hole in my vest.

He refused to let go. So I refused to let go. My firmly scolding the donkey; while also trying to reason with him seemed like a perfectly normal thing to do. We stood in a good 4 or 5 minute stand off; with the donkey having hold of me and me having a firm grasp of the donkey; while I also tried to verbally have a discussion with the donkey. Every time, he pulled harder on my vest, I would respond by gently shaking his muzzle for him to let go. I gather he was a very spoilt donkey and was only looking for treats. Eventually I won.

Once he let go, I took some more photos of him; plus I got some close ups of his big yellow teeth as he next chewed on the fence. Finally, I went away with my vest still in tact; HOWEVER, it had Donkey Spit all over it.

He's one donkey that I will remember.