How the Donkeys saved my ass...

...or at least a lot of money.
Yesterday was a beautiful spring day, the sky was blue, the sun was shining. I was on my way to work, zipping along the quiet country roads. I all of a sudden spotted him and sure enough he spotted me, didn't take long once I past him to see the flashing light in my rear mirror...Darn I thought. I pulled over and this young officer walked up to the window.
Officer: Where are you heading?
Me: To the Donkey Sanctuary of Canada.
Officer: Oh, so do you know a Mrs. Mo....son that works there?
Me: Oh, you mean Mrs. Mo..is? Yes I know Terri.
Officer: I went to school with her daughter.
Me: Oh yes I know M. too.
Officer: License and insurance please.
I handed him the papers.
Officer: Do you know how was you were going?
Me: Pretty fast.
Officer: Yes, about 31 km/h over the speed limit. This will be a hefty fine. About $250 Dollars plus 4 points against you.
At this point I had really nothing to say, but just grin and bare it.
Officer: Let me just run these papers and I will be back.
There wasn't much time between him getting to his car, writing my ticket and returning the papers back to me.
Officer: Well, I love the Donkey Sanctuary of Canada, I love the work you guys do out there. I have been out there myself visiting with my son before, and it was great. So I scaled your ticket down to the closest I could to about 15km/h over the speed limit. Which means a fine of about $ 52 and no points deducted. And just to let you know, we will be in this area for a little bit now, so just make sure when  you come this way you stick to the speed limit.
Me: Thank you so much and I am sure I will. :)
And of we went our separate ways. Whew! That was a lucky break.

What a smart ass!

Literally!

Loki has been residing at J's farm for about a year now. She has been a foster mom to four of our donkeys for a long time, when one of her/our donkeys got ill last year with bladder stones, she was brought back together with her then eight year old son Willie. Due to Roberta's medical condition it was decided to keep her at the DSC for a time being until she is well enough to go back, after passing all her medical follow up appointments. Willie was taken back to Joan after about two months and to make the transition easier for him, he got a new companion in the form of Loki. Loki came with his mother Anu to the DSC in 2006 and he became a big brother that same year, when our Odin was born. Even so we had all three donkeys for a while together at the DSC it was very obvious that they were not a tight family and most of them chose their own companions, Anu resides now at a Foster Farm too and Odin is best friends with Cargo and Tengen, our three Musketeers. So Loki left last summer with Willie to go to J's farm. All reports and conversations with J. over the last little while was that Loki was doing well and just loves it there, but who wouldn't. J still comes out to visit her Roberta ever so often and is excited about the chance to have her return in the late spring or early summer. So the other day we received this Loki story and it just shows how smart these guys really are and that they think for themselves...

Before the snow came yesterday our winter field was a mess just like all the other fields in this area. There were a few bare spots, snow covered areas, sections of frozen slush and in among all this were patches of polished ice. Treacherous for horses, donkeys and people!!!! As Joan was filling the hay feeders Loki came and stood at the back door of the barn looking down the slope at the horses teetering along to the feeders. He stood there for about 5 minutes before he decided to move but instead of heading down the slope on the trail the horses had made he came out of the barn and veered left and continued heading left as he moved down the slope. He  went  around the feeders and then turned and approached the feeders from the back.  As I watched him navigate his way along I noticed his path took him only on the bare spots or snow covered spots. He carefully avoided the ice and frozen slush.

 It scares her to think that he was standing at the barn door planning a safe route. :) There were no other tracks in this area  so he was not following a ready made path. Willy might have to take a back seat to another emerging Donkey Einstein.

Makes you wonder what else they could think of. :)

Katie loves Donkeys

Katie has been seen hanging out close with several donkeys, affectionately licking their faces, not all of them take to it kindly, but most of them put up with this little loving goat.

Katie loves Orly

Katie loves Juno

Another special day at the DSC Farm! (revised...as blogger swallowed half my entry....)

Yesterday was our last OPEN DAY for the year, I was playing a role that I had been playing all summer long, I was in the boutique for half the day. As we decided it would be too cold for one person to stand in there all day long on the same spot. I wasn't quite sure what kind of day it was going to be, either really slow because being so close to Christmas and people being so busy with Christmas preparation or it was going to be a very busy day with kids being out of school and parents wanting them to be out of the house, well it was the later. It turned out to be a very busy day, a day full of surprises and just warm feelings. When I arrived at the DSC, I met up with our knitting lady in the parking lot, she started coming out to volunteer her time at the office too just a few weeks ago, would you believe since the early summer she has knitted about 250 plus small donkeys, and they sell like hot cakes, she was actually also bringing 25 more donkeys, only three of them made it however onto the shelves in the boutique as the other ones were all still to be going out in our mail orders.  When I arrived at the boutique I immediately had the whole "Greeting Committee" arriving, interested in all the stuff I had, and what I was doing. Well we certainly couldn't have any more Open Days with these guys so close to the action, they have pretty much eaten all the greenery decorations from around the boutique and were always fishing for more. A once full basket to pine branches, and pine cones, decorated with a red bow, only had merely the bow and basket left, they dumped out the pine cones and ate the branches. But who can be mad at those sweet faces.

Apollo and Cocoa

Donny and Nugget

(the lighting was really bad, it was so overcast)

We stocked up the boutique, but it actually still looked very empty, these Winter Open Days have been really successful in every way, and particularly in the boutique. I had one of the new volunteers working with me in the boutique as she was in charge of the hot chocolate and keeping the fire burning that was going just by the welcome centre to warm on at. What was different today compared to the last two Open Days, was that today there were about 75% of people here, who have been out to the DSC on a regular bases and it was so nice to see them again and chit chat about the new things that were happening at the DSC. And it kept the "safety talk" to only a few during my shift. There was my little man Mason, he is about three years old and he must have been out with his dad at least once every month during the Open Season, then there was the hairy guy that was groomed by Eeyore at the fence in the summer, the older British lady who just is in love with Summer, the young girl (12) that gave her own pocket money at one of her visits as a donation and who wanted nothing more for Christmas other than an Electric toothbrush and a sponsorship, mom let me in on the secret and told me that they had sponsored her daughters favourite donkey Chiclet for her for Christmas. Oh how happy she will be. 

At one of my peeks out the boutique door I spotted  Cate at the fence, I had no idea that she was going to be there too, so that was nice, nicer than that was even that we then had lunch together, lunch in the Pady Farmhouse, lunch prepared by the Founder of the Sanctuary, and hmmm nothing was more fitting and yummier than a warm bowl of soup and bread on this cold winter day. 

By midday the sun had finally made an appearance and it was just beautiful to stand out in hit. Unfortunately it didn't last too long and soon there was a blistering freezing cold wind and big clouds in the sky. After lunch, I put another layer of clothes on, switched my boots around and went down to the barn. Cate and I mucked out the Eastside  of the barn and had lots of interesting conversations about pretty much everything under the sun, we joked around and just ever so often just stood there and watched the donkeys. Uma was giving us a little bit of a hard time as she was in a cranky mood and kind of aggressive. After that chore was done it was time to mingle with some more people. I met a nice young man, who came from a place four hours away, just because he always wanted to come out and getting his mom a gift from the boutique was just the perfect excuse to make the trip down. We were talking about the donkeys and he told me that they have three donkeys, well I kind of knew that lol, and Summer recognizes a donkey lover at any time, so she snug up on the young man and he just had the magic touch, he just knew the right spots to scratch and pet and Summer was in heaven, so much so that the young man stood right behind Summer scratching her but and she was soaking it up, Chantal came with Summers dinner, and Summer had no interest in it...the choice...food, which usually Summer goes nuts over...or having a nice man scratch your behind....tough choice, but Summer picked the young guy and Chantal had to wait a few minutes until he left and Summer was ready to eat. Very funny, especially when you know that Summer usually goes over bodies to get to her food.

The end of the day was packed with one more huge chore, omg, it was fun and unnerving and definitely something new, and well a good way to face your fears as it was me against the big rowdy geldings. The Chore: Feeding the rowdy boys a round bail of hay, my part in it....opening each and every  gate for Cate to navigate the tractor with the bail of hay to the designated spot, while keeping donkeys out and in and then out of the way. The first few gates wasn't too hard still a little bit unnerving as everybody always wants to check out what you are doing, and it's kind of hard to keep donkeys out and away when you hang on to two gate openings. The worst was the gate from the parking lot into the gelding pasture, because as soon as they know hay is coming of course they just gravitate towards you. The gate is right by the parking lot, opens inward, so I had to wait for Cate to be all the way through, while being on the other side, while donkeys stare at an wide open gate. But we managed quite nicely. Then I had to keep eight big boys out of Cate's way so she could position the tractor the right way and back up enough again to drop in the bail, it was a little bit intimidating trying to direct the big boys away from the food, after all that's what they live for, almost all were very cooperative, but then there was Apollo staring me down, and all I could remember however you gonna move him, whatever you do, do not flare your arms in any way, so I kind of stood beside him and leaned heavily into his shoulder and he finally moved out of the way. So Cate was perfectly positioned to drop the bail, but I had to cut the netting around it first, of course the donkeys by then are all at the feeder anticipating the drop of the hay. It was so hard to get the netting off, my fingers were frozen, the netting was frozen to the bottom of the hay bail and it took a few minutes in the midst of very inpatient donkeys to get it loose and off. Talk about not being able to think about your fear for a second but just getting it done. So it went well and getting out of it and back to the barnyard was easy. I can not even imagine having to do that job all by yourself once in a while, but it happens.

The end of the day was nearing and it was time to say good-bye, I had a few moments with Orly, Hershey and Chaplin and of course Cate and the girls in the office. And everybody came to the same conclusion...that those three Open Days were a huge success, with lots of donations at the gates, lots of sales in the boutique and lots of sponsorships of donkeys. I am sure we will do it again next year....because really, and a lot of people said it, what could be nicer than being in the present of these warm fuzzy loving and lovable animals, that played such a big part in the Christmas Story. It definitely was a worthy experience and in the true spirit of Christmas...love...peace....joy!

BRRRR!

It has been really cold the last few days, even though the weather was nice with sunshine and the occasional light flurries, the temperatures have been a different story especially with the wind chill. I went up to the farm on Tuesday on a sunny bright clear day, but you could almost see the cold in the air. Thank God most of my time there was spent in the office working on my little project. The office was in a little bit of a uproar as C. was so upset as somebody had messed with the computer system and she couldn't access anything, she was almost in tears, such a wasted time, and so much to do. I got a few of my things accomplished and then headed down to the barn to record them and to see if I could get the missing picture done, but omg, having your fingers out of the glove for seconds to take the pictures, I couldn't feel a thing, not even the button to push down to take the picture...so there went that plan and it was way to cold to go out looking for the missing donkeys that I still needed to take pictures off, I think I got one donkey that I really needed, but as for the rest these were just for fun.

Reno, Miss Jenny and Ginger, the mules

Sweet Molly Mule

Jimmy, the boss mule

Larry

Werther, named after the candy due to his colouring.

Not sure what those two were looking at.

And then I went passed the Rowdy Gelding Paddock, and I was lucky enough to catch their attention for a second, because really all they just want to do is play and run. Here are three of the rowdy big boys.

Cocoa, who only had a second to spare for me, and then was off chasing after Panne again.

Nugget, one of our newest donkeys.

And our Romeo Donny, 

who was able to tear himself away from the far end fence

 that separates him from the Donkey girls.

He is the main reason though for the creation of the Big Gelding paddock. The thought behind is that the big boys won't put up with his constant mounting other donkeys, and fighting with the other boys, so far he really gets along great with the big boys and there has been no fighting or misbehaviour on anybody's part. It is actually I think a good change, because the big boys do get along fine, don't have to compete with all the other donkeys for food and attention and have been seen quite often involved in donkey games, which is nice to watch. They have been running and playing just like wild little young donkeys. As of right now there are 8 geldings in this paddock, only four really big ones, like Cocoa and Panne, Indy and Apollo. Going in there is a little bit intimidating,  because of their size, but they are all softies, well except Donny and I don't know too much about Nugget yet.

But oh what sweet faces they all do have. 

A donkey in the Meadow

A donkey in the meadow

is a pleasure to behold.

Be it sweet, shy and retiring

or brash and just plain bold.

A beast of burden some may say

but what know they of Donkeys

other than they bray.

They do not see long ears of brown, muzzle gray, 

tiny hooves, soft eyes that say

I'll be your friend and come when you call

and if asked to work, I'll give it my all.

But I rather be in a field of green

grazing, frolicking, just being seen.

Enjoying treats and being told

a Donkey in the meadow is a pleasure to behold.

~Doreen Hawton, April 2004~

The other day I went out with my friend to a super huge thrift store in a tiny little village, on the way there we passed some horse farms, lots of fields and meadows, in one meadow I spotted some donkeys, so on the way back we stopped there and went to the fence, actually there were about 10 cows, ten beautiful big horses and about 8 donkeys all in the same field, the donkeys of course came right over to the fence and enjoyed a few ear scratches from me. There was a little donkey, maybe half a year old and he looked just like our Odin when he was little, all white with this big afro on his forehead, very cute, his mother was a dapple gray donkey, as for the rest of them, they were all very tall, dark brown standard donkeys, just my favourites. Across the street was another little farm area with two horses and a huge paddock with one miniature donkey mommy and her baby, omg was he ever cute. I bet he wasn't much older than two months. He was a bugger to his mommy though, always biting on her and chewing her face off. His fur was still so wooly and fluffy, he was just adorable, and his hoofs very just oh so tiny. I could have just donkeynapped him. I definitely will go out there again for a visit and check on them.

What are you guys doing?

First I was going to call this entry " Cocoa, the instigator", but then that would single out one lovely smart donkey, and even though it looked like he was the ringleader, he sure had lots of willing participants and I can't put the blame on him alone (lol), and even Earl Grey was in the line up, and he usually walks to is own drums. There must have been some donkey talk going on all afternoon down in the barn, I don't know I was up in the boutique, so I really don't know what happened in the barn, but somehow the donkeys must have put some thought into this, and a very smart one I might add, because how else could you explain this? As everybody knows, even the donkeys, the carrot walk takes place every Open Day at 3:30 pm, usually by 2:30 the donkeys get a little bit anxious and excited and restless and can't wait for the carrot walk to begin. Well yesterday, there must have been a rumor, or somebody changed the time or who knows what  really happened to make them pull this stunt. But as I am working away in the boutique with some customers I heard this commotion going on, that usually is a sign that the carrot walk is taking place, I looked at my clock and it was only 3:15 pm, so too early for the walk, but here they came, over the hill ...like always Cocoa up first and all the donkeys single file behind him, and I am talking about every single one of them, happy as can be to be on the carrot walk,  only one problem, there was nobody in front of them carrying the carrot bucket. They must have thought that they will outsmart Chantal and get there before she even starts the carrot walk and just wait for her or maybe they just wanted to get a head start on her. It was too funny, just like an every Open day carrot walk without carrots and staff person....a couple of minutes later I saw Chantal with the "swisher" getting them all back into the barnyard to finally start the carrot walk at the proper time. Really wonder what made them decide to go on their own carrot walk? Oh what silly, but oh so smart, donkeys.
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After the carrot walk most of the donkeys stayed out in the field to graze, when I was leaving three of the donkeys came in, on light brown one, who I wasn't really sure who it was in the beginning until I kept watching the donkey. Well half way back to the barn, this donkey stopped and looked back into the field, nobody was following her. Still not sure who it was I finally clued in, it was Uma, waiting for her best friend Spice, but Spice was still out grazing and was in no rush to come in, so  Uma waited a few minutes and then got impatient. She let out one big long bray  and all of a sudden you saw Spice trotting in from the field. And with Spice came a few other ones, while some chose to stay out in the field, or hide out in the shelter out there, and some just made their way slowly back into the barnyard,will a roll in the dirt here and a roll in the dirt there, a nibble on the fence and some more grazing. As I drove up the lane way to head out, I saw Buffy with Dolly and Ms Jenners in the shelter. Glad Ms Jenners got a few friends, she looked so unhappy on Sunday being back with the main herd, after spending most of the summer on the special needs side.

A very lovely day indeed!

Sunday started out to be just like every Sunday for the last few months, getting up early to get ready for the day at the DSC, packing my stuff and gathering a few extra things today and off I went. This time it was a little bit different tough, excited mixed with a little bit of anxiety I arrived at the farm without a donkey in sight. I thought it was a little bit odd since it was a nice cool morning, but hey what do I know about what goes on in their cute big heads. I stopped at the boutique to drop something off and made my way down the lane way. Juno was hiding behind a tree and stuck her nose up in the air as I walked up to her. She really has come so far, in the beginning she would just run when she saw somebody coming towards her, now she is somewhat relaxed, it depends on who is approaching, and just enjoys the moment with a person around. She comes to sniff you out and then if you are lucky you get to pat her and she stands still and likes it. She is such a brave little donkey and one I hold dear to my heart. I walked further down the lane way and well somebody is trying to mess with me.... the fly mask that usually was on Sable was on somebody else and the other two of the trio had the big ear covers on and I couldn't see their little faces, so I had no clue who was who until later in the day when I got to spend more time with them and actually felt their differences. I was going to  clean the yard area in front of the barn, Steph and Adam were busy in Halfway Haven and nobody else was around yet to do chores. Of course before I started I went inside the barn to say hi to the ones on stall rest and to see who else was there around the feeder and to say good morning  to every one of them. I am really proud of myself that I pretty much can tell everybody by name, there are three of the pintos I have trouble with, and three of the white ones, but the rest of them I can name by sight, something I thought I would never get a handle on way back in the winter. I grabbed my pick and started cleaning, as I walked around the feeder outside, I noticed another big guy out on the special need side. It was Cocoa. How nice, usually Cocoa is with the main herd, but it was a special weekend for him, so he was on the visitor side. And how nice to have him out here with us. I find it always nice to spend more one on one  time with  the ones you don't get a regular chance to do so with, so it was not only special for Cocoa it was special for us too. He definitely enjoyed the hay at the feeder as that is where he spent most of his morning. I started picking up the yard and voila I had a sidekick. Solo came out to check on me and wanted to figure out what I was doing, he nonchalantly placed himself in front of me so I had no other choice but to scratch his belly, omg he loves belly rubs. Solo does relax so much when you do it, he stretches out his neck and his bottom lip starts to loosen up and he just puts his head sideways and looks at you with such appreciation and love for that moment. Of course I had to keep working and I stopped rubbing and moved on to the next poop pile to be picked up, and Solo kept following me over and over again, needless to say it was a very slow morning with the clean up. Thank god two more volunteers came and we tackled the endless job together. Shortly before ten I made it over to the dark side hill to pick away at it and well I think some of the donkeys mistakenly took me for a good scratching post, Bob Ray must have scratched his head on my side for good five minutes and again needless to say it took forever to clean up. The first visitors arrived and it was time to talk to people, still being on the dark side, it was nice to stand among the donkeys and tell people about their stories and their lives now, of course I had my little sidekick Buffy with me at the fence. Oh how I love Buffy, she is one of the sweetest donkeys, very shy and gentle.

The morning passed by fast and as I was standing at the fence talking and cleaning donkey ears, Kim approached me and said there was somebody who wanted to meet me, I turned around and pretty much recognized her right away, even though I had only seen one small picture of her and Cocoa. We exchange a warm hello and hug and just started talking and talking and talking. It was so nice to finally meet Cocoa's "mommy". We had been exchanging messages and emails via Facebook for months now and I was so excited to hear that she was coming on her yearly visit to Cocoa, and we would finally meet up. It's funny, usually I am very reserved and shy and need time to assess new situations, but I liked her from the very first time we exchanged messages on Facebook and in real life she was just as amazing as I thought of her to be. Her love for Cocoa is always so apparent in her words and messages and I admired her strength and determination to make a good life for Cocoa even if it meant for her to loose a donkey friend close by. Her selfless act of love for Cocoa's sake and the pain it caused for her, was always something I was aware of and I could only imagine the hurt and yet the joy of seeing him well she experienced and still experiences. Funny I am always so aware of what others can go thru and even on the drive up that morning I was thinking about her and that she was leaving again on Monday and how hard it will be to say good bye again and it made me cry already and that was before I even had met her that day. Cocoa was definitely delighted to see her and I know she was to see him. We talked pretty much on and off all afternoon and I could have listened to her stories about her Cocoa and Lucky all day long. It was so nice to hear how she got Cocoa, how he was when he was little and over the years, and she told those stories with such pride and joy and love and it was just delightful to listen to them. I really didn't want that afternoon to end, and for me to be that comfortable and relaxed around somebody "new" is huge and means a lot, but she is just one amazing lady, beautiful inside and out. She was delighted to watch Cocoa mingle with the people, enjoy being brushed and petted and being a little bit of a brat as he kept trying to empty out the brush bucket over and over again.   Even though Cocoa can be an assertive donkey, who knows how to get the attention he wants, he is such a gentle giant and I really enjoyed having him on the visitor side. 

Throughout the afternoon  we had a few discussions about the DSC in general, the changes that happened, the changes to come and the current happenings on the farm, and I am sure we will continue these discussions in emails and messages, there is just so much to talk about and so much to share and the end result is always what is best for the donkeys and the love of these amazing animals. I am so looking forward to continuing our friendship and well from my point I can say that I will treasure this friend tremendously and I am just overjoyed to have had the chance to meet her in person and recognize the wonderful person that she is. 

And I like to think that like minded people are generally alike and generous and loving and caring and giving, well as far as I have experienced it anyway, and it was so touching and sweet of her to give me a gift of her love as I was giving her a gift of her love too. Well my morning  coffee will definitely taste better from now on with Cocoa and her kind and loving spirit in mind. Thank you so much! I love it and it was very nice and thoughtful of you!

Well after four o'clock it was time to say good-bye, as we walked up to the parking lot, exchanged a few more hugs and then it was time  to go with the promise of " see you next year" . I was so glad she was able to make the long trip up the Guelph and am looking forward to next spring.

Hopefully  she had another beautiful day with Cocoa on Monday and the good-bye wasn't too hard...but who am I kidding here ...I know it was and she knew that too. 

Heat-Eeyore-and a few choice words.

Well it's been even too hot for my liking for the last few weeks, but yesterday took the cake, I thought a few times I was going to pass out from the heat at the DSC boutique, with no breeze or even a flow of air in that little building, I was soaking wet by ten o'clock and was just miserable. It was busy as hell and I had a great day sales wise in the boutique, but really because of the heat I couldn't wait for the day to be over. I don't think I ever drank so much water in my life and yet it didn't feel like I drank enough. Once in a while I could get a chance to step out of the boutique and catch the breeze out in the open walkway. All of a sudden it hit me and I looked around carefully to see that no people were around me, and well a few choice words were coming out of my mouth, as I was stung by a wasp right on the side of my ear....whoa that did hurt like hell. I think I have only been stung once before in my life by a bee, when I was maybe 11 years old, so I couldn't remember that pain, but it really did hurt yesterday, I spend some time with an icepack held to my ear, to keep the swelling down, and really on an ear there is not much flesh to swell, but it was red and puffed up like double the size and stayed like that for the rest of the day. Ouch!
I really didn't get much donkey time in yesterday at all, and I can't even remember when I really groomed a donkey from head to hoof. But I guess once October will roll around I will be back to doing more one on one with the animals instead of people. I have to remember to take a few pictures on Sunday though, as I have found my perfect models for some Easter cards...just too cute. Hope they will cooperate with me and model their new fly masks...omg it was so cute....we have these really neat flymasks to cover the donkey's eyes and ears, well the ear parts are a little bit too long for the miniature donkeys, so the ears don't fill them out completely and the top part of the ear covers flop over like bunny ears....omg they were so cute...I gotta get that on picture...they just looked so adorable and funny. :)
This months we will be getting three more donkeys at the DSC, one of them is called Eeyore. Can't wait for their arrivals. It's the first time I 'll be there for new ones right from the start, so that's exciting.
The vet was there yesterday too to take some x-rays of Buddy's leg, hopefully it is nothing too serious, and he will be back to scaring people in no time. Buddy has been known to chew big time on fence boards, to create a nice fitting neck rest for when he hangs his head over the fence, well at times he puts so much pressure on his windpipe when he lays his head in it, that all you can hear is his heavy, laboured breathing. People stood outside at the fence running to the inside of the barn to check on him, because he sounds just horrible, but as soon as he lifts his head, his breathing is fine, lol silly boy, I guess that's his way of getting attention all the time. lol. He also likes to pull on your clothes when you just stand with him, but not really bother with him. He is an all hands on me kind of donkey. So cute.

A Birthday, Sickies, Open Day!

Today is Odin's fourth birthday! He is the last donkey born on the DSC farm as of now. His mother Anu was pregnant with him when she was brought to the Farm with her other son Loki. Odin is a very lively donkey who brought much interruption to the "Special needs side" when he was brought over from the main herd in the winter months to gain some weight. He has caused a lot of mischief and is sometimes getting on the nerves of the older residents on the Farm, as he tries to entice them to his wild "horse" play. He is ever curious and needs to be in the middle of everything.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ODIN

I got to the DSC early yesterday morning, and to my surprise all the paddocks had been cleaned already, as I made my way down to the barn, I was greated my Helia and she told me in tears about Danny, she wasn't sure if I had heard about it or not. I gave her  a hug and told her that I was thinking about her all day Thursday and since then, and how hard it must have been for her. I walked into the barn with her and was greeted by Cate with the remark " Welcome to the animal hospital." The barn was still a mess and pretty much every stall was occupied by some sick donkey.  Cate  has been busy attending to all the sickies and Helia and I took over the cleaning of both side of the barn, so that Cate could do what she needed to do and we still had the place in tip top shape for Open Day. There were legs to ice, there were wounds to be cleaned and bandaged up, there were feet to soak, medication to give and the list went on and on. I ended up mucking out some of the stall of the sickies,  feeding the animals,  and I was soaking healing feet. And by the time the first visitors arrived everything was as normal as it could be. 

It was a very busy day, and the stream of visitors was pouring in all day long, there were lots of kids today. My favourite visitors are always the ones that enquire about indiviual donkeys, their stories and their personalities. Some that show a direct interest in the donkeys, their care and want to know everything about the DSC, from it's start to the future plans, from care of the donkeys to staffing/volunteers, from funding and how to help. It is always amazing to me how many people do come out to visit "their" sponsored donkey and are so happy when they meet him/her. Yesterday was an interesting day for most part, I had one lady  who was really nervous around the animals, even over the fence she was scared to touch them, so I directed her to "Summer", our oldest and sweetest donkey. Summer just stands there to let people pet her and if they stop she stalks them because she wants more. I saw her later on stand with the lady who nervously petted her, and Summer just enjoyed it. We had an unexpected visit from the original "Donkey boy", it definitely is always nice to see him and he promised to be out more often, as he really misses the place. Never knew he was such a huggy kind of guy lol...hugs when he gets there, hugs before he leaves lol and I am not talking about quicky hugs here  lol, more like long embraces... too cute! 

Oh Panne, our mammoth donkey made us laugh yesterday. He is the biggest donkey on the farm and kind of thinks he is the boss at times, well with his size nobody really wants to mess with him, but he was thinking about getting a drink of water yesterday and stood there starring at the water and kept backing up, he definitely was scared of the drinking water....so Helia, who really spoils them, got a smaller bucket so he won't be so scared, and filled it with water and put it in front of him, and he was still backing up from it, he got so spooked by it that he backed up into the walls and kind of panicked. Panne is a real goof ball and so accident prone, now I know why lol....big old goof.....early that afternoon he was rolling in the dirt close to Adam's walk way and when he went over on the other side with his roll landed on all the rocks that bordered  the sidewalk, that really must have been comfortable. lol. NOT! And then m(d)onkey see, m(d)onkey do, Indiana comes over, another fairly big standard donkey, rolls in the same spot and as he rolls over all you hear is his head hitting the rocks and I am thinking ouch! He got up and pretended like nothing  had happened. Oh those silly donkey boys! 

Another Donkey Angel!

I was going to write about my day on the Farm today, but I will do that maybe tomorrow, today is dedicated to our sweet Danny. And absolute amazing donkey, who was loved by us all and will be missed by so many. Especially his Helia. I am so glad I could give her a hug today and that she was there in his finally hour.

Sadly Thursday morning it was time to end sweet Danny's life in a humane way to end his suffering and agony. I cried all the way home Wednesday night after leaving the farm, I was told just before I left and of course went down to spend some time with Danny.  After I had some cuddles with him I was just leaning over the gate of his stall to watch him eat and I had Orly and Sable both snuggled up against the back of me. Oh Danny ....what can I say about that amazing donkey boy. Danny has been one of the sweetest, most agreeable donkeys I have ever met, he was such a symbol of the DSC and almost like a mascot because everybody knew Danny and everybody loved Danny. Danny to me was always the perfect embodiment of Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh, walking around with his head hanging low, looking sad and depressed all the time, but despite that impression Danny was full of life, he loved attention and would seek people out all the time, and he would stand there for hours on Open Days and enjoy the brushing of the visitors. He was a noisy little guy, who knew exactly when it was time to eat and he would make it loud and clear when he wanted his special food. His bray was always so distinguished from all the other brays, and I would sometimes just be in the yard and hear him bray and say to myself...what is he complaining about now?...you could always tell it was Danny, he had this little squeaky bray at the end of his long serenades. His beautiful singing inspired me to do the "singing donkey" pillows for Donkey Day, they were always stitched with him in mind, that's why I changed the colours of the donkeys too.  He definitely was one of the most vocal donkeys we have and everybody always stopped doing what they were doing to just listen to him and watch him. Even his last few weeks on stall rest, he demanded his attention and there were plenty of people to give it to him. He was so loved, especially by his Helia, who has been volunteering at the DSC for 11 years and just loved the little guy to pieces. Since he had been on stall rest she came out to just visit with him so he won't get lonely and sad. She cut up his food into little pieces to feed him things he had a hard time eating, because of his bad teeth. She has loved him for the past 11 years and I know her heart will be broken as many of ours will be too. No matter how much our heads understand what is best, our hearts are not always so easily convinced.

This was Danny's story as per DSC biography of the sweet donkey boy.....

Danny is a dappled, brown and white Standard donkey who was born in 1985. Before being admitted to the DSC in 1994, he lived for many years with a herd of cattle on a farm in Southern Ontario. Since he was with the cattle all the time and being fed the same diet, Danny was significantly overweight. When the owners of the farm decided to sell and move to the Maritimes, Danny was slated to go to auction. Fortunately, though, a neighbour who had enjoyed seeing Danny in the fields, and who often stopped the car to pat the little donkey, enquired about Danny’s future. When the neighbour learned that, due to his poor condition, Danny would probably be sold to a slaughterhouse representative, it was decided that the donkey deserved a better fate. The neighbour purchased him and in turn contacted the DSC to request that Danny be taken in. Danny is one of the most agreeable and gentle donkeys living at the Sanctuary Farm. He enjoys the company of the donkeys in the main herd and, at the same time, he is wonderfully gentle with our visitors. Helia, a long time DSC volunteers, is particularly fond of Danny and he thrives under the care that she gives to him.

Rest in peace my sweet  little Danny boy. You will be missed by so many and your voice will be missed by us all.

Danny and Pookie (probably 2006)

Why does the world pick on the donkey! Epxress yourself

WHY DOES THE WORLD PICK ON THE DONKEY?

Saturday July 24,2010

By Julie Carpenter and Sue Blackhall

 Have your say(2)

IT IS a sad irony that it’s a donkey’s ability to suffer in silence that has made it one of the world’s most abused animals. Docile and trusting, with its doleful eyes and long ears, the donkey stoically carries on in pain when injured, hiding its suffering. So its unfair destiny has historically been one of cruelty and mistreatment.

Take the latest example of abuse when a trembling mule was hoisted into the air attached to a parasail harness and made to “fly” over a beach in southern Russia. The intention was apparently to advertise beach sports to tourists but the sick stunt, which saw the terrified animal wailing in fear, rightly caused outrage worldwide.

The Donkey Sanctuary in Sidmouth, Devon, described the stunt as “one of the most senseless cruelty cases we have seen in over 40 years”, adding: “The suffering endured by this poor animal is totally  unacceptable and we hope justice is brought to the individuals responsible.”

Ann Widdecombe, the patron of SHADH, another donkey welfare charity, told The Daily Express that she was absolutely appalled. “I couldn’t believe what I was reading. It seems the most terrible way to treat an animal that has no means of resistance,” she said.

Authorities in Russia are now opening an animal cruelty probe but what the incident has done is to highlight the on-going plight of this gentle beast. Sadly mistreatment and lack of compassion is found in many countries and is often perpetrated by those whose livelihoods actually depend on the animal.

Back in 2007 this newspaper launched a crusade to help donkeys being grossly abused on the island of Santorini in Greece. The animals were suffering in agony when being used as “taxis” for tourists, made to clamber up the unforgiving heights and crumbling paths of the holiday isle with overweight and uncaring holiday makers on their backs.

The donkeys’ owners, focused only on receiving as many “fares” as possible, spared no thought for the overburdened animals as they carried tourists in scorching temperatures, relentlessly scrambling up and down 600 steep steps.

There was no let-up with the donkeys having to make the trek many times every day until they almost dropped from exhaustion. Sitting astride the animal made for a good photograph to take to the folks back home but its reality painted another, more brutal picture.

The Daily Express campaign touched the hearts of thousands and resulted in educating some of the owners in how to better care for their donkeys’ welfare, such as providing food, shelter from the heat and allowing some rest breaks.

But this is only part of a wider picture. Donkeys are similarly being mistreated in the ancient city of Petra in Jordan and at the Egyptian pyramids in Cairo, where they are made to carry weights far heavier than themselves. Quite why tourists are so eager to jump on these gentle beasts’ backs is debatable but even those who claim to care about animals at home seem to lose compassion for them abroad.

Animal charities are constantly trying to teach those for whom the donkey is important as a “tool” in their everyday lives that under standing the needs of the creature is paramount for its long service and welfare. But in many countries donkeys are considered low-status animals that can be bought cheaply and then terribly abused. They are forced to do more work than their small bodies can cope with.

In these countries lives are indeed cheap, for buying a replacement donkey is less expensive than paying for veterinary care. That means sick or injured animals are often tied to posts without food and water and simply left to die. It is a tragic end for a creature who has served a master well.

Donkeys are also used to divert attacks on goats and sheep by coyotes and to protect cows while calving. The coyote is the only natural threat to donkeys and it is why any canine fills the animal with fear.

In Egypt alone there are more than three million donkeys, many of which are used for everyday tasks. As well as carrying people they are made to transport bricks for the hundreds of kilns in the country. Each kiln has 10 to 15 donkeys on site. Most of the animals in pain are suffering from open wounds caused by poor harnessing or from foot and eye problems. They are, like donkey ­populations throughout the world, regularly beaten by their owners.

The Donkey Sanctuary in Devon is one of the leading animal welfare groups. As well as having UK and Northern Ireland workers, its Donkey Sanctuary Overseas Department has major welfare programmes in India, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya and Mexico as well as projects in many other countries.

In Ethiopia workers of the Donkey Sanctuary Overseas Department routinely see up to 1,000 sick and injured donkeys every day and it is a sad fact that, while donkeys can live up to 35 years, in developing countries they seldom live to more than 10. While poverty might be some excuse for ignorance there is no justification for vile cruelty in the name of “fun”.

In America “donkey basketball” is played, often as school fund- raising events. It is a variation of the normal basketball game but the players all ride donkeys.

During the game the animals can be punched, dragged and kicked by children and adults who usually have no experience of handling them. The donkeys are often weak before they even start, having been deprived of water and food to lessen the chance of “accidents” on court.

As one expert observer commented: “Donkey basketball fundraisers send kids the message that it’s OK to abuse and humiliate those who are weaker than they are. Children who are exposed to animal abuse are taught the dangerous lesson that cruelty is acceptable.”

In America donkeys are not protected by the federal Animal Welfare Act and animal protection agencies are reluctant to get involved in cases of cruelty simply because they have no experience of dealing with them.

Forcing donkeys to participate in such an alien and cruel pastime is bad enough – and their fear is understandable – but incredibly there have been successful claims by those hurt when a donkey hits back.

It is a further irony that these animals which are so routinely mistreated, are also highly sensitive and prone to suffer from a fatal condition called hyperlipaemia, a stress-related illness.

Thankfully, having “fun” at the donkey’s expense is slowly being exposed – and stopped.

Last month the Donkey Sanc tuary’s Spanish arm successfully banned donkeys being used at the annual beach festival in Sanlucar de Barrameda in southern Spain, where they were ridden and abused by drunken revellers. The festival has both saddened and sickened animal lovers for years.

El Refugio del Burrito and three other Spanish animal welfare associations joined forces to stop the animals being used during the Feria de la Manzanilla festival, where party-goers were renting the animals illegally from unscrupulous owners and then riding the donkeys and subjecting them to cruelty and torment throughout the night.

Photographs and films were presented to a council representative for local festivals to highlight the plight of the donkeys and as ammunition to prompt a ban. The meeting achieved its goal and this year the festival went ahead without the donkeys.

“We are so pleased we have been successful in stopping what was a horrific ordeal for the 30 or so donkeys involved in this festival and that it was made possible by a united collaboration with other animal welfare associations,” said Iván Salvía, El Refugio del Burrito’s general manager.

“Now we can try and stop similar cases in Spain, helping to protect many more donkeys.”

U ntil recently the Donkey Sanctuary’s overseas priority has been to alleviate the suffering of sick and injured donkeys by offering free veterinary care and preventative treatment. But now it is also working in partnership with donkey-owning communities to educate them to supply this care themselves. Above all it is determined to “change harmful habits and practices” such as too-tight harnesses which cause the animals great pain.

Measures like this might appear insufficient in the general global welfare of the poor donkey but it is a giant step in making some aspects of their lives tolerable.

“People’s beliefs and habits cannot be changed overnight, especially when rooted in culture and tradition,” says Suzi Cretney, of the Donkey Sanctuary.

But there is still no logic in the donkey being treated as the joker of the animal pack. “The donkey is very sweet-natured and has a comical air with its big ears but it is an easy target and an easy punch-line,” she adds.

Hopefully one day the mistreated donkey will no longer be the jester of the animal world but rise to be treated instead as a gentle king.

That should teach me...

...as of lately I rarely leave my house without my camera anymore, because well you just never know what you run across at any given moment that is worth being captured, of course today I didn't bring it as it was just down pouring when I left to go down to Lake Erie to visit with my friend J. And really the camera was the furthest on my mind as I had a few issues to deal with at the same moment. It was a really rough and tough visit and sometimes I leave there with more confusion than when I got there, mostly because she has a way of making me look at things that I didn't think of and sometimes really don't want to look at that way. So the ride home was even rougher and I wasn't sure if it was the rain or tears clouding my vision. But then as I got closer to home, I saw HIM. I had seen HIM many times before, but never really got a good look at HIM. But as I passed by his home today, I saw HIM right at the fence, of course I drove right past HIM, but decided to turn around and backtrack the 200 m and pay HIM a visit. He was right there at the fence, I pulled up beside HIM, got out of the Jeep and walked up to HIM. OMG, he was cuter than I ever expected HIM to be, oh so sweet, and I was swearing quietly to myself about forgetting the camera. HE looked just like Hershey only in a miniature version, omg I wanted to donkey nap HIM so badly. He came closer and enjoyed a few moments of ear scratches, and nose rubs, and then some stupid truck skidded across the gravel and scared the heck out of him and he took of. He lives there with two huge horses, who are absolutely beautiful and I must say he looks great, well taken care of and loved. So that makes me feel good. But oh I just couldn't stop smiling to finally meet HIM up close and personal. What a cutie. Well I won't forget my camera next Friday, that's for sure. What a cute little donkey!

Searching for the right picture!

It's amazing what you find out in  casual conversations and what leads from one thing to another. As part of the Welcome Centre and the boutique we were asked to show of our  " I love donkeys" or a heart with two donkey faces temporary tattoos. I usually pick the "I love donkey" one and roll up my sleeves and put it on the top of my arm. As I was standing there the other day  the lady, who runs the "education centre" at the DSC, noticed it and commented how nice it look and I replied with "well I should get in inked on permanently so I don't have to do it again every day"  and how I was thinking about getting a donkey tattooed on me and all of a sudden she was talking about how she always wanted a tattoo and how much she is scared of getting one and she went on and on, hmmm sounded like me a couple of years ago, and I told her all that was told to me about it before I got mine, that it was less painful than I expected it to be, and that I had a coworker kind of hold my hand and nudge me onwards because I was so afraid of it, but it was something I always wanted. After that she said "you know what, I am turning 60 next week and if I don't get adventurous now I never will" and she made up her mind right then and there that she will go for it and asked me if I would  go with her when she is ready to go, after her daughters wedding in July. Of course I will, I am always happy to pay forward what was done for me and it might give me the next little push to really think about what I want exactly, where I want it and when I will get it. So the plans are in motion and the search for the right donkey picture is on.
Ok I can see some of my friends rolling their eyes and wondering why a donkey, well for one... for the obvious reason, because I love them. But I have been asked why a donkey before, since a tattoo suppose to have a meaning to you as a person, and as I had explained  once to my PIC about the significance of a donkey, well donkeys do represent me as a being, no I am not an Ass, and I am taking being called an Ass as a compliment,  but I am so much more like a donkey than people realize, and maybe that's why I relate to them, understand and love them so much. Most people do not really know the real characteristics of a donkey, they think of them mostly in negative terms like stubborn, stupid, slow, lazy etc. But that is far from the truth. Donkeys are very intelligent, they are friendly, gentle, loving, affectionate, patient, independent, curious and yet cautious, a donkey prefers to do what is best for itself, not what others want from him/her,  they are laid back, just to name a few of the real descriptions for a donkey.  Well and I am most of those things too, I know I definitely am one to wait and watch and do things at my pace when I feel it is safe for me to do so.

Found this description of a donkey compared to a horse the other day on a webpage, made me chuckle and I thought how true is that ...."Donkeys can perform all the gaits horses or mules do, but galloping is usually not on the program unless dinner is being served."
It makes me smile every time when I see them run towards their food, especially the mini ones, how cute they truly are.

The culprit and the bruise! (edited)

The culprit is Apollo, who is a very tall standard donkey, on the picture you can see how much taller he is compared to the other standard donkeys.

And apparently he has a big mouth, as the next picture shows. The bruise is just above my elbow and the top bruise is from his upper jaw and the bottom bruise from his lower jaw...Not really that bad.....oh I am so proud of all my battle scars...and I have plenty of them, lol, but this is my first real donkey related one, well I had a blue toe once, as Abigail stepped on my big toe on Donkey Day a few years back. 

This was yesterday...this is it today....:)

 June 30,2010