Almost every weekend for about a year now, my husband and I have been spending a few hours volunteering at a donkey rescue near our house. The rescue has donkeys, mules, and ponies, and is a safe place where the animals are protected from human harm; many are adoptable. We generally help to feed the animals, clean pens, brush fur, halter and lead train, and socialize, all while still kind of learning how to do it all.
Last winter, I spent some extra time helping to socialize Odie, a younger donkey who was stripped from his mother at an early age. While he did have health problems when he arrived, he's also shown evidence of physical abuse from humans, still evident in his one floppy ear. At first, he wanted nothing to do with humans, turning his head and body completely away from people. I mostly sat in his enclosure for hours and let him observe me on his own time. He could see that I wasn't harmful and I didn't ask much from him. Now he's very approachable and shows interest in people; he's ready for more halter and lead training. He's a much happier donkey now.
Here's Odie in February:
In March:
Enjoying a dust roll:
Odie from last week, with much lighter fur:
Here you can see the humans had some fun with Bonkers, a miniature who loves attention:
Here's Sparkles, a mammoth (I think), saying hello:
Suzie is one of my personal favorites. She is an older donkey who loves attention and getting brushed. She's content to spend quite a while just by my side. I almost always give her a hug when we visit.
It's not the best photo, but here is Maisie, the mother of Mojito. Mojito was born on May 5 and is a very active, curious, and friendly donkey. She's also super soft!!
Last winter, I spent some extra time helping to socialize Odie, a younger donkey who was stripped from his mother at an early age. While he did have health problems when he arrived, he's also shown evidence of physical abuse from humans, still evident in his one floppy ear. At first, he wanted nothing to do with humans, turning his head and body completely away from people. I mostly sat in his enclosure for hours and let him observe me on his own time. He could see that I wasn't harmful and I didn't ask much from him. Now he's very approachable and shows interest in people; he's ready for more halter and lead training. He's a much happier donkey now.
Here's Odie in February:
In March:
Enjoying a dust roll:
Odie from last week, with much lighter fur:
Here you can see the humans had some fun with Bonkers, a miniature who loves attention:
Here's Sparkles, a mammoth (I think), saying hello:
Suzie is one of my personal favorites. She is an older donkey who loves attention and getting brushed. She's content to spend quite a while just by my side. I almost always give her a hug when we visit.
It's not the best photo, but here is Maisie, the mother of Mojito. Mojito was born on May 5 and is a very active, curious, and friendly donkey. She's also super soft!!