PEOPLE WHO ARE VIOLENT TO ANIMALS RARELY STOP THERE!

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Back to where it all started!



Last year I had the privilege to attend a Donor Appreciation Lunch at the Donkey Sanctuary and it was at that luncheon that I decided I wanted to be more involved in this organisation, more than just monetary. It took me another two months after that to get my nerves up to actually sign up for the volunteer sessions, and the rest is history. So today it was again time for the Donor Luncheon with the donkeys. I arrived there about 11:45 and lots of people had already gathered there to mingle with the donkeys. The main herd was congregated at the fence along the Office paddock as there was hay for them laid out along the fence. The lane way had hay lining the way too, so that donkeys were more visible to the people, instead of hiding out in the barn. As I walked down the lane, I saw Cate and she came right over, gave me a big hug and asked all kinds of questions, and told me that she had found the perfect spot for her stitched donkey in her living room, to hear that made me happy. Even though she isn't working there anymore, she has been out at least once a week to volunteer, and in her usual way she gave me little things to do, even though we were all there as guests today. So I put name tags on all the donkeys, so people would know who they are.  Then it was time to eat. Of course Cate playing mother hen to me again, which made me laugh, I sat with her, Adam, Leslie and Helia and we had a lovely lunch. After lunch Sandra, the DSC founder spoke and introduced Adam, who held a short speech about the happenings in the donkey world of the DSC. We all agreed that Adam cleans up nicely for special occasions, and was almost unrecognizable. After Adam, it was Kim's turn to speak, Kim is the operation manager, and she spoke mostly about the future of the DSC and explained the master plan. One thing I really admire about Kim is her ability to speak publicly, she does it so elegantly and without any hesitations or stumbling over her words. That's really amazing to me.
After the function was over, we all helped tidy things up and it looked like nothing ever took place here in a very short time, after that I spent some time with Cate in the barn, even though we weren't dressed for barn chores, because even we clean up nicely if I might say so, but then there were things to do in the barn and like in old times, I helped Cate feed the animals and get them water and set for the night. One of the chores Cate gave me was to get Summer from the Office Paddock for her dinner, I grabbed a halter and lead and walked up there, but really all I had to do was call Summer and tell her it's dinner time, and she came running, too cute, no need for a halter and lead whatsoever. So she marched nicely behind me back to the barn and was eager to get in her stall to eat. While we were waiting for all the special needs donkey to finish their feedings, I finally saw Gordon in action. Because of Gordon, most stall door have two locks on them, a simple slide latch and a chain latch, because our Gordon is an absolute genius when it comes to open latches, and he does it so fast and with such ease I was just amazed, I mean I have heard of it, but never really seen it, but boy he sure can work fast  and let everybody out of the stalls. I also spend some time with Cocoa, the newest donkey, that was just returned from a foster farm, where she had been for over ten years, poor little thing. Sweet as can be, very confused and sad, but hopefully she will return to a somewhat normal life again soon. I also spent some time with Juno and she was really sweet and cuddly with me.
At the end of the afternoon Cate and I walked to our cars and she said, we will have to make a date to go for a walk with the donkeys before the weather gets too bad. Well that would definitely be nice and I am looking forward to that.
Again, what an amazing day with all the great animals and people at the DSC.


Our handsome boy COCOA
Cute HERSHEY
GORDON and INDIANA

SUMMER, ODIN and JUNO


Our big boy and goof ball PANNE

 CARGO

Our oldest, SUMMER ( 40 years old)

And my sweet BUFFY

6 comments:

Tracey said...

I can totally understand why you love it there! What a worthwhile thing to do. xxx

Melodie said...

Sounds like you had a great time! I love all the donkey pictures!

Verde Farm said...

SO GLAD I found your blog. I love donkeys too and have five of them myself. They are just the sweetest animals ever and if folks haven't had them or spent time with them they just can't imagine how wonderful they are. I want to learn more about the sanctuary. I didn't know it existed until I started blogging (only a month ago). I appreciate your work there and all the other great folks that put in their time, money and love to these wonderful animals. So happy to be your newest follower on google:)
Amy at Verde Farm

Jodie said...

These donkeys are SO amazingly beautiful! I admire you so much for all of your work with the donkeys :-)

Inger said...

Thank you for sharing these wonderful donkey pictures! And you are so blessed to have a good sanctuary close by. I know the work is so rewarding.--Inger

Fantastic Homeschool Family said...

Thank you for sharing your experiences at the farm with us. I just love to hear about you and the donkeys. It makes each return visit so much more meaningful to know some of the personalities behind those cute faces.

Sounds like you had a great day!