Update on Jorge, Our Newest Donkey

Good Morning.  I received this message from Shirley and wanted to pass it along.


Before

"Farriers are not too concerned about Jorge's hooves, this trim has seen a nice improvement. One front hoof is quite turned out and may not come back completely. One back hoof was actually quite good.
After a bit of a struggle Jorge settled down quite nicely for his first trim here at the Refuge which indicates that at some point in his life he had his feet done on a regular basis.
Jorge is a very gentle soul that is going to need gentle quiet handling while he settles in at the Refuge. Jorge even though he is a stud is not showing the same aggressive behaviour that Big George or Tiny Tim showed upon their arrivals. Jorge's Vet visit is tomorrow now."

After

More details of Jorge's farrier appointment:

"The Coronet band in his front hoof needs straightening as it is facing out.
Other front hoof is very distorted and has a contraction and flare problem.
One rear hoof was good.
Jorge struggled a bit but then settled down making us think that at some point in his life he had regular farrier visits. He actually lifted his last rear hoof for Jim.
A real sweety of a donkey but is very scared and nervous right now, poor fellow."



Jim and Bob give Jorge a trim

This is much better news than expected.  Tomorrow I get to meet him but I am guessing that he won't be too chipper after the vet visit today.  Keep you posted.  Have a great day.  We had sunshine yesterday.  It is cloudy right now but I do see the blue sky peeking through so I plan to have a wonderful sunny day even if......

JORGE HAS ARRIVED

Good Morning Everyone

Jorge (pronounced hor-hey)

This is my second attempt at this particular posting.  The first one (that I thought was quite brilliant, by the way) went into the great abyss where all good, unsaved writing goes - never to be found again.
There is always a good reason when this happens to me although my first thought is never "Sure glad I lost that amazing piece of writing that I have been working on for hours."  But once I get over it, I realize that the piece is too "ranty" or too superficial.  Or just silly.
So, let me begin again.
Our newest donkey, Jorge, arrived yesterday.  The SECOND thing that Shirley noticed was how much he looks like our own little Hoss.  The FIRST thing she and Rob noticed was the extent of damage to his hooves.  AGAIN!
As I have mentioned before, we are blessed if we can get to the hooves and correct them before the damage has affected the development of the leg bones.  On Saturday, when the vet comes out to do his examination of Jorge, we will have a better idea if there are remedial therapies we will need to do for Jorge to correct bone damage.
Fingers crossed, everyone - even though we began correcting Hoss' hooves as soon as he arrived at the Refuge, he still has a shortened gait with his back legs due to some degree of malformation due in all likelyhood to the pressure put on his leg bones because of the extent of damage to his hooves.

Ouch!!! This is very bad.

Oops, this is starting to look a little "ranty".
Jorge also still has his "baby-maker" so Saturday he will be gelded.  A welcome package from the Refuge.  It is the safest thing we can do for him and the rest of the herds.
We have a call in to the farrier to begin reshaping Jorge's hooves.

Ah, it never ends.  New day, new challenge!  I am blessed to be part of it.   MY HEART THANKS ME!

DONKEY DAYS RESULTS

Hello Everyone Gave Fez his hug this afternoon. Somehow I don't think he really cared about being sponsored last. As long as he is fed and cared for, I think he is a happy boy. Donkey Days......I think the nasty weather had a big impact on our fundraising efforts. Attendance was down from last year even though we increased our celebration from one day to two days. It looks like we had 47 sponsorships and 23 memberships. Our visitors were generous at the gate and pie and cupcake sales were brisk - sold out, in fact. Fingers crossed that our supporters who were unable to attend will come out to see us or sponsor their donkey by mail or online. Thank you to everyone who was able to attend. I sure had fun and the donkeys got lots of hugs and pats. Did you know you can sponsor your favorite donkey via paypal on a monthly basis? Or through Canada Helps? Think about it - YOUR HEART WILL THANK YOU.

Quick Post About Donkey Days

Hi Everyone. Well the 4th Annual Donkey Days has come to an end. I am not sure how we did with our fundraising. The weather certainly didn't help but hopefully the folks who intended to be at Donkey Days and opted out due to the unpredictable weather will visit this summer. Laura had set a goal to have everyone of the donkeys sponsored at least once and she was successful. Poor Fez was last to be sponsored. He is such a cute little guy but sometimes nice guys finish last, I guess. I don't know about the other volunteers, but I finally allowed myself to feel tired today and will enjoy a good night's rest. I am going to pop out to the Refuge tomorrow and help put stuff away and do chores. Shirley assured me that she and Rob would rest for a few days and gradually put away the Donkey Days stuff but I don't believe it for a moment. I have yet to see either of them when they weren't moving at warp speed, either mentally or physically. I will post more details about Donkey Days in the next few days. I think the first thing I will do tomorrow is give Fez an extra hug, just because.

JUST A LITTLE UPDATE

I was disappointed to wake up to cloudy skies this morning so had to give myself a little pep talk as Max and I had our morning walk. I reminded myself that the joyfulness of a day is not determined by outside circumstances. We create our day from the inside out. So, today is going to be a beautiful, bountiful day for us at the Refuge. Hope everyone is going to have as wonderful a day as I am! Cheers.

DAY 1 - DONKEY DAYS

Hi Everyone. Day 1 of our 4th Annual Donkey Days is complete, and, considering the unfavorable weather, I think we did well. Hopefully tomorrow will be a very busy day with lots and lots of generous visitors. The donkeys behaved splendidly and gave lots of donkey kisses to the visitors. Lillie was her usual lovely self and Jose serenaded us with his soulful brays. I never did get up to see the mini donkeys in our Maximo Barn but I hear that they were a hit. Due in part to the rainfall, the INDOOR Learning Center was popular. At the end of the day, Laura, Marion and I were responsible for removing the directional signs from the highway. After such a long day, even the simple task of pulling up the rebar that held the signs in place resulted in fits of hysterical giggles on the way home. Tomorrow morning we head back to the Refuge at 8:30am, hopefully under clear, sunny skies, for Day Two. Until then.....nite, nite!

DONKEY DAYS HERE WE COME

One more sleep and the fun begins. Rob, Shirley, Sean and a dedicated group of volunteers have worked extremely hard to make sure our 4th Annual Donkey Days is a great success. I am convinced that our wonderful donkeys know that something very special is about to happen. They have been brushed, and brushed, and brushed again. Tomorrow they get one last brushing and then they get their name bands - pink for the girls and blue for the boys. All of us are going to try for a good nights sleep so we are "bright-eyed and bushy-tailed" for tomorrow. Now if George and Tiny Tim will call a truce for the night, perhaps Shirley and Rob will have a quiet night and a decent rest. Fingers crossed. The Refuge looks spectacular. All of the barns are "dressed up" and the fence panels have been arranged so the visitors can be right next to the donkeys. There are great bands and guest speakers, old-time craftsmen and yummy food. This year's t-shirt color is RED and, other than volunteering during Donkey Days, the only way to get one is to become a Member of the Refuge. I've got mine. Well it is off to bed for me. We want to be at the Refuge by 8 o'clock tomorrow morning. Hope you can join us for two amazing days.

DONKEY ROPING RODEO CANCELLED

Great News Everyone!!! Due to the overwhelming response to the donkey roping rodeo in Van Horn, Texas, IT HAS BEEN CANCELLED. Thank you to everyone who voiced their objection to this cruel, cruel "sport". Isn't it great to know that we CAN make a difference? MY HEART THANKS YOU AND THE DONKEYS WE SAVED THANK YOU!

5 MORE SLEEPS UNTIL DONKEY DAYS

For those of us involved in making sure Donkey Days 2012 is as successful as our previous celebrations, the idea of 5 more sleeps is both exciting and terrifying. Exciting because the festival is the opportunity to showcase our wonderful donkeys and Refuge and to provide an opportunity for visitors to provide financial support that will allow us to continue to care for our charges. Terrifying for the very same reasons. This is our major fundraising drive, and everyone involved in putting this event together knows what is at stake. We want everyone to love the donkeys and appreciate the work that the staff and volunteers do at the Refuge, both to ensure excellent care for the donkeys and to advocate on behalf of animal welfare in general, and donkeys in particular. We anticipate 1200 visitors over the two days. In purely financial terms, we need 200 sponsorships, 200 memberships, 1200 visitors to pay the suggested admission donation of $7/$5 and record breaking Shoppe sales. If we can add in significant miscellaneous donations, we will be well on our way to having adequate funding to run the Refuge in the off-season. It would be such a relief to go into the upcoming winter and spring knowing that the funds to maintain the herds and the property were already in the bank. There are still many projects to complete, displays to be set up, volunteer schedules to confirm, donkeys to groom, prayers for good weather to be said, and, with any luck at all, a few hours of sleep for Shirley and Rob. DONKEY DAYS IS ON, COME RAIN OR SHINE. THE DONKEYS NEED CARING FOR, COME RAIN OR SHINE. HMMMM! SEE YOU THERE. Be Prepared To Have A Great Time and Give Generously!

AS PROMISED!

Saturdays are volunteer work days at the Refuge. If we are lucky, particularly this spring, the rain will subside long enough for us to spend time with our beloved donkeys. Today the forecast was for rain and the weatherperson was right. Wet donkeys and wet volunteers. Even though donkey brushing was not to be, today was a great day to be at the Refuge. Of course, we are all in Donkey Days mode so our chores centered around preparation for our major fundraising event. Brand new T-shirts were folded, sponsorship packages assembled, the walls in Sady's Barn were washed down and the paper mâché ball for the Lollipop Tree game was started, among other things accomplished. Speaking of Volunteers and Donkey Days - those of us who were at the Refuge today received our brand new RED T-SHIRTS that we get for volunteering at Donkey Days. This year there are ladies Ts and tank tops. Veeerrry nice. There are only two ways to get a red T-shirt - volunteer at Donkey Days, or purchase a $25 membership to the Refuge at Donkey Days, and for an extra $15 you get a red T-shirt. Wait until you see them! I am getting so excited about Donkey Days. This year, besides great food and entertainment, we are pleased to unveil our Learning Center and it promises to have lots of interesting displays and information. Of course, the highlight of the day is our wonderful donkeys. Always! Thanks to Laura, Jill, Dalelyn, Tami, Elaine, Bailey and of course Shirley, Rob and Sean for another great day.

MORE ON DONKEY ROPING AND ABUSE IN GENERAL

I still have my shirt in a knot about the donkey roping rodeo business, and how someone could call that a sport.  Don't even get me started on rodeos in general or chuck wagon racing. Having said that, my focus is on what we do at the Refuge to rescue and rehabilitate these gentle creatures that suffer in silence as they are abused and neglected, or are no longer wanted.
I asked Shirley "What Do We Do?" and this was her reply (edited a bit as she is as fired up as I am):

What do we do.
We educate. We explain better what a roping donkey is, or how they use a donkey to haul (unthin) tourists up the mountains in Greece, or the donkey that they use in a celebration in I think Greece again, that carries the (heaviest) person in the Village through an obstacle course and gets beaten along the way by the villagers.
It is about respect. The world does not respect donkeys and hasn't for thousands of years. We may someday want to consider putting a bit of an education sectional somewhere on what a roping donkey is. Now we understand why Farrah was so head shy and hated men including Rob for two years after she arrived. I can't even image the conditions the donkeys live in.
Maybe we should be putting more effort on showing people what these donkeys have gone through to reach the state of being designated abused.
A very good lesson here.
Unfortunately these type of things alter my respect for humanity in general.

I have inserted a picture here that may be upsetting but it is time to be more forthcoming about what is going on out there with regard to animal abuse instead of being concerned that the information or photos may make someone's tummy upset.

And this donkey is one of the "lucky" ones that survived.  These roping donkeys are roped around the neck and lower hind legs and stretched until they fall down.  The result (other than me regurgitating my supper) is broken bones, injuries like you see in this picture, and death.

Go to the link posted on Donkey Sanctuary to see more information on this cruelty and take a moment to express your disgust.

Next posting will be more pleasant, I promise!

Donkey Roping - You Won't Believe This

This posting is going to be straight to the point. On the very same days that the Donkey Refuge is holding our Donkey Days Celebration to raise money to care for abused donkeys, THE CITY OF VAN HORN TEXAS IS HOLDING A DONKEY ROPING RODEO. Quite frankly, I am in utter shock. Donkey roping is even worse that I could imagine. I will provide a link to the Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue that describes what those "cowboys" do to the donkeys and provides an email address to the City of Van Horn where you can register your concerns. I wish to prepare you - the pictures are graphic, and, if you are anything like me, they will make you cry. I don't know what is happening - how can anyone be so cruel? We are pretty sure that our Lady Bug was a roping donkey. OMG - I hope that she didn't suffer this abuse. The link is www.donkeyrescue.donordrive.com. If this link doesn't work, please go to the Donkey Sanctuary website to get the link. Please follow your hearts and help us end this cruel, cruel "sport".

SCHOOL TOUR LOTS OF FUN FOR ALL

Standard donkeys Juanita and Pueblo
Mom and Son

On this past Monday, we hosted a school group from Kamloops.  The children were aged 4 and 5 years and their supervisors were....well, older than that.
It was a lovely sunny day for a group visit.  The donkeys, and in particular the standards up in Paddock 3, were pleased for the company.  It was so cute to see the donkeys lined up on one side of the fence and the children on the other, each enjoying the chance to visit.
By the time my group got to the paddocks where the Mammoth donkeys and the Special Needs donkeys were, the sun was high in the sky and the donkeys had wisely sought shelter under the new overhang, quite content to forego pats and hugs from the children to remain in the shade.

Lillie our Therapy Donkey

George, however, came out to visit and stood quietly while little hands reached through the fence to poke and pat him.  What a change in him.

And Lillie, our therapy donkey, also traded shade for a short visit with the children.  I coaxed Lady Bug from under the overhang and she stayed close, but not too close while the children learned of her story.
By the time we got to the Maximo Barn where the miniature donkeys are currently residing, the children were just about "donkeyed-out" so after a quick visit, we headed to the picnic area where they enjoyed their lunch and had a good time running and rolling around in the grass.
Shirley demonstrated worm composting - always a big hit.   Worms.....who knew.

WARNING: Segway to very important information is about to occur.

This visit represented our last private tour until after Donkey Days.  So the focus is now on June 23 and 24th festivities.  As this event is our MAJOR fundraiser, we are counting on lots of very committed and generous guests to attend. 

SHIRLEY'S TARGET IS 100 SPONSORSHIPS DURING THE CELEBRATION.  100 sponsorships represents about 15% of the number of sponsorships we need just to feed the donkeys and pay the farrier, vet and dentist each year.  This doesn't even take into consideration the barn and property care required to keep the donkeys safe and secure.

I THINK WE CAN DO BETTER THAN THAT, CAN'T WE?  I SAY 100 SPONSORSHIPS PER DAY.

I know that sounds a bit ambitious where else can you spend $50 and have it give you a year's worth of "feel good about yourself"?  YOUR HEART WILL LOVE YOU.  And so will the donkeys.

UPDATE ON GEORGE

I was out at the Refuge yesterday and spent some time with George. He is putting A bit of weight on his bad hoof - a very good sign. He will be confined to the Sady Barn for a very long while yet so that nothing can get under his hoof and aggravate the abcess. George was quite lovable yesterday and came right up for pats and hugs. I hope that his new demeanor is permanent as it was such a joy to spend time with him. We aren't able to use the standard hoof wrap to protect his hoof from getting dirty so are checking into a product that apparently gies all the way under the hoof and has sticky tabs that fold up and adhere to the top of the hoof. Interesting concept. Hope it works and is available. We are also keeping a close eye on our Sara. She has cataracts and they may be diminishing her vision. When the vet checks her, we will be inquiring about the possibility of cataract surgery. How cool would that be? Yesterday was a great day for the volunteers at the Refuge. We got to brush donkeys even though they were a bit damp from the rain. We also got other chores done - the Donkey Shoppe looks squeaky clean and sponsorship packages are assembled. Don't forget that if you want to participate the the care of these wonderful creatures, you can donate using paypal on our website or go to www.canadahelps.org and donate to our charity. Of course, the most interactive way to participate is to visit the Refuge and get to know the donkeys in person. Makes it easier to choose your donkey to sponsor. Do something good to support the Donkeys - YOUR HEART WILL LOVE YOU.

GEORGE IS IN BAD SHAPE

Good Afternoon, Everyone


George

You will remember that I blogged about our newest donkey George and actually wondered if he was a mule in donkey's clothing.  He is indeed a donkey.  You may not know that he was rescued from a farmer who kept in in a garage with a cow, a llama, some goats and chickens.  We believe the reason that he arrived with a shiny summer coat was because he was never outside in the winter weather. 
Well, I have some very bad news to share with everyone.  I received the following message from one of the founders of the Refuge, Shirley, this afternoon:

George has an abscess in his back hoof.  George has experienced a very severe injury in the past that cracked the hoof and the injury was never dealt with properly. As a result the hoof is still cracked and dirt is getting up inside and becoming infected. The hoof actually broke away when the vet began cutting the outer hoof away to let the pus out. George is now confined to the barn. It is going to take a long time to heal this abscess and it may also be a chronic problem for him.
This whole problem is the result of bad hoof care in the first years of George's life. It was so hard to see George shaking with pain on Monday until Rob gave him some pain medication.
A very sad state of affairs and another example of The Donkey Refuge working to fix a problem with a donkey whose feet were not cared for properly in the first place.


The vertical line on his hoof is a split that goes from the
hair line to the end of his hoof - NOT GOOD.

I try very hard to be understanding of previous owners and not judge them harshly but this is just too much.  George is only 6 years old and will have to endure months and maybe years of terrible pain and will not be able to enjoy romping around the pasture as donkeys love to do.  I can't even imagine the pain he is in.  We won't be able to integrate him with other donkeys until his hoof has healed.

For anyone who may still wonder about the need for a Donkey Refuge - there you go.  I wish this was an isolated incident but it is not.  There are donkeys out there that are being abused as I write this blog.  They need our help.

I am ending this blog as my emotions are getting the best of me.