PEOPLE WHO ARE VIOLENT TO ANIMALS RARELY STOP THERE!

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

The special needs side! What a lovely bunch of Asses!

The DSC Barn is divided up into two sides, the special needs side and the dark side. The dark side includes the bigger part of the barn and access to all the fields and meadows. The donkeys on that side are mostly fine and don't need any particular special attention to monitor their well being, but a close eye is kept on them anyway and they do get necessary daily attention, like hoof care, grooming and butt and ear scrates. The donkeys on the other side, the main barnyard side, are all special needs donkey, either they need food supplements on a regular basis, need daily medical attention, need to loose weight/or gain weight or just need to be closer monitored than others. Mostly the older ones and the very shy donkeys are on that side, the ones that might get pushed around by the big herd of the rest.

The permanent residents of the special needs side are:

Summer: mainly because she is old and needs food supplements. She is right now the oldest donkey at the Sanctuary and is very loving. She is a little bit of an odd looking donkey, but cute in her own way. I always think she looks like a reindeer without antlers..what do you think? That's her after her special foodtreat and she wants either more or back out.



Danny: he is old too, Danny to me is the embodyment of Eeyore, a depressed donkey who thinks it sucks to be a donkey...he walks around so depressed looking all the time, but he really is a sweetheart and loves the attention. He is one of my favourites, he also is a beautiful brayer and can sing for a while without tiring. He does have many foot problems.




Dusty Rose: she is old and has major foot problems, and trouble walking most of the time, but since she got new shoes, she is so much more mobile. She is a grouchy old donkey lady and was best friend with Dolly, a perfectly fine donkey, who is totally attached to Dusty, even though right now she is ignored most of the time by her friend. But they tried to put Dolly on the other side, and she was not happy at all.


Paco: he is the smallest donkey on the farm, he has a deformed jaw and his face is therefore deformed and has trouble eating, so he is closely monitored to make sure he gets enough to eat.








Gordon: is old and overweight. He is one of my favourites, and I think he has the most beautiful ears of all the donkeys on the farm.






Sable, Pansy and Poppy, or the three amigos like I like to call them, are mostly there because of weightproblems. Poppy and Pansy are mother and daughter, Sable came a few years ago with another donkey, that soon after the arrival died, and so Poppy and Pansy kind of adopted her into their own little herd, and they are always together. Always!

Augusta: She has major eyeproblems which will lead to her going blind eventually, and she has foot issues, but is so much more happier with her new shoes.Another one of my favourites, she loves to cuddle and is very friendly.








Chiclet: He is really the saddest creature on the special needs side, even though he has been seen frolicking with Odin, he has a lot of muscle problems and is slow with his walking.  He had a rough start right from the beginning and it really is showing on his poor little body, because really he isn't that old yet, but he moves like he is ancient. He also doesn't have long ears anymore, and they are just short little stubs. He is a cutie and hopefully will be able to get some massage therapy soon.


Odin: is there to gain weight and is fed supplements three times a day.He loves being on this side, and doesn't seem to miss his mom and brother too much, he just thrieves on the attention he is getting and demanding at times.

Juno is on this side because of her shy nature and her fear of all the action going on. She was severly abused by her previous owner and has a hard time trusting people, but she is making slow progress on that, but I am sure it will still be many more months if even ever she will be somewhat calm around people.







Buffy  needs to gain weight too. Another one of my favourites, actually my best buddy on the farm.









Ed, not really sure why he is there, maybe because he is old. He, Gordon and Dusty Rose actually have been moved to the quite part of the yard, the halfway heaven, where they can be closely monitored on what they eat and have special flooring for their sore feet.







Solo...well he is Solo, very nosey and strange creature. Not sure what to make of him, he is a lovely boy, but his behaviour is very odd and one never knows how one stands with him.









Every time a donkey needs some special attention, maybe due to an injury or other developing health problems they are moved to the special needs side until they are better. So really at any time you can have anybody over on this side.
And of course there are the sheeps, Larry and Lucky, Nello and Worther. Now Nello starting to come around and is starting to like me, since I started to dig my way thru his wooley coat to give him relief from his itchies. And then there is the goat Cocoa, who I think is hilarious and makes me laugh out loud every time I see it, and who gives me a hard time at times, but also is very playful and nosey.

3 comments:

Louise said...

What a wonderful place you have chosen to volunteer at. You take such joy in it. The donks are lucky to have you care for them.

AJ-OAKS said...

Love the pics of all the donkeys. How wonderful that they are all in a place where they can be loved, respected and fed wihtout worry. Hugs to you for volunteering and helping each and every one of them.

Tina said...

OMG I love being there, it is such peace and such a different world, makes you forget everything else in your life and nothing seems important....that's where you really know you are in the NOW!