Henry Update
Henry the Donkey – Update
Henry has been at the Sanctuary for many years now and sad to say that old age is starting to creep up on him.
Many of you have supported Henry over the years on the Adopt a Donkey Scheme and we hope you will continue to do so for some time to come. However, a recent check up by the vet has shown that he is starting to have dental problems. Many of his teeth have worn down to gum level and so he is now on a very special diet to enable him to eat safely and comfortably.
Many of the older donkeys have a soft food diet and now Henry will be having that same treatment too. He will be living with the geriatric herd from now on to ensure that he has that little extra care and attention in the future.
However, we have decided to take Henry off of the Adoption Scheme for new subscribers but would encourage current supporters of Henry to continue supporting him when your renewal is due.
We are sure that Henry would bray a thank you if he could to all those that support him specifically on the Adoption Scheme and we sincerely hope that Henry will be with us for the foreseeable future.
Molly News
Molly is still as strong as an ox!
Many visitors to the Sanctuary delight in making friends with Molly the elderly donkey who has free range to wander where she pleases around the farm.
She may be ancient but she is still as strong as they come and despite having to take her time walking around, she is wonderful for her age.
She came into the Sanctuary many years ago with overgrown and twisted hooves which had caused permanent tendon damage and so she has adapted her gait over the years to allow her to walk around as best she can. She has had trips to the mainland equine hospital for specialist treatments and operations in addition to having her hooves attended to by our farrier on a very regular basis.
Sometimes visitors are concerned to see her out and about on her own but rest assured she is very happy pottering around the farm visiting her donkeys friends over the fences or standing in the sunshine while a passing visitor makes a fuss of her.
New Farm Purchased!
New Farm – Update!
A new farm has been purchased after many years of hard fundraising to provide a special facility for some of our more elderly residents and newcomers to the Sanctuary.
This farm will not be open to the public thereby giving us the time to give those animals most needing it, the respite and close attention that they need.
In addition to having a wonderful new American style barn to stable the donkeys in, there is plenty of sheltered grazing land and a sand school for winter turnout.
There is even a purpose built building that will provide a new home for the charity’s offices onsite making it a much more practical way to run the charity in the future.
There are some remedial and preparation works going on at the time of writing but it is hoped that the farm will be ready to receive the new donkey residents before the end of 2009. This new farm has been a dream of the charity’s for many years and now that it has finally come to fruition we are sure that it will be a first class facility for all those donkeys needing specialised care for many years to come.
It was with the help of Lloyds TSB bank that we were able to buy the farm when it came onto the market and so have to raise a further £260,000 to enable the charity to own the farm outright. We appreciate that so many of you have already donated to the farm appeal and we thank you all for your support of this most worthy and necessary of projects.