This Chula Vista resident spotted a real-deal pack animal parked and chilling, waiting for its owner at the local Target.

Nothing really prepares you to see wild animals bigger than yourself in the middle of concrete civilization so when it happens you take photos for posterity’s sake. That’s what Twitter user @LittleKelfie did earlier yesterday (Mar. 13, 2019) when she was minding her own business and came across an honest-to-goodness mule hitched under a shade tree in the parking lot of a Chula Vista Target. Check out the encounter with nature below.

somebody parked their mule at target pic.twitter.com/PTwN51x00d — ole goofy ass (@littlekelfie) March 13, 2019

I reached out to the now novice mule spotter to get some insight on the matter. According to @LittleKelfie

” I was walking by and as I got closer I asked myself “is that….a mule in the parking lot” and sure enough there he was “parked” perfectly in a space”

This mule isn’t your run of the mill birthday party mule, this is a bonafide pack animal complete with said pack, saddle, and all the load shifting harnesses.

After a cursory Google search, mainly the keywords “San Diego” and “Mule” I came across this article from The Atlantic from 2013 about a California nomad wandering this great state with his three mule team. In the cover photo, one of the mules looked a lot like the mule in @LittleKelfie’s Twitter photo. And sure enough, a Facebook page linked in the article led me to the mule owner who’s appropriately taken the name “Mule.” And if you squint in the fence of that photo on Twitter, you can make out the 3Mules.com website name on his pack.

His most recent video posted has him and his pack animal around lovely Chula Vista.

And quite honestly, his other videos are gems as well. I particularly enjoyed this slide show with his mule cozying up next to several Californians as is their natural demeanor, docile and patient.

Knowing that this mule is taken cared for and this man is living his best life warms the cockles of my heart.

As far as the California Vehicle Code is concerned, CVC 21050 states that it’s perfectly legal to ride an animal on city streets as long as you’re following the rules of the road. With a recorded top speed of 15 MPH, probably without a pack, mules are rightmost lane animals only.

If you’re in the San Diego region and happen to come across this mule, don’t be afraid to chat up the owner, maybe bring a handful of carrots or an apple for his four-legged friend.

Source: Twitter