Water, water everywhere, not a drop to drink!

As ever, the latest Newsletter begins with comments on that most discussed topic in this country - the weather!!  Since last time, we have been frozen, snowed on and drookit.  In between times, the sun has had the cheek to come out and smile at us and even make us feel relatively warm.
The week before Christmas was particularly bad for anyone looking after livestock as the extreme cold snap meant that the water, being carried to the troughs in the various paddocks by pipe, froze.  Once the donkeys drank the contents of the troughs, no more came through and we were forced to transport water in jerricans.  Our little van came into its own, as it was ideal for this job - two trips per day made sure that all the donkeys had plenty to drink. 
The ice which was removed from the troughs was several inches thick and it was a big relief when the thaw finally arrived.
If we thought that was the Winter over, we were wrong - at New Year the snow arrived!!  Thankfully, at the sanctuary, it was never too deep for us to have huge problems and a few of the younger donkeys had great fun rolling in this soft, white stuff!!
The middle of January was taken up with horizontal rain and gales.  No damage has been caused - in the last few years we have seen some of our larger trees blown down - but the mud levels can be a real trial working outdoors!! The end of January/start of February has not been much better!!
Our resident donkeys all have very thick coats, ideal for the cold weather, and whilst they do not really like the rain - their coats not being  water repellent like those of horses and ponies - they do not seem to mind and can be found outside grazing even when they are able to enjoy a cosy and dry shed.  We do have some donkeys, though, that would not even poke a nose outside if it meant getting it wet!!!  Paddy and Henry spring to mind, instantly  - just shows what clever boys they are!

Smile please!
We have been keeping the vet busy since last we reported.  December was Dentist month when the older donkeys at The Holmes had their teeth examined and rasped.  The first batch of donkeys behaved fairly well but our second batch must have heard about it and protested.  The simple answer was to give each donkey a mild sedative so that the procedure could be carried out without any stress to donkeys, vet or sanctuary staff holding on for dear life!!  When Millie was examined, our vet decided that her teeth were in such a state that they warranted treatment by a specialist.  This was scheduled for just before Christmas - Millie was transported to St. Boswells - Good girl, she loaded on to the trailer with absolutely no fuss - and the deed was carried out at the new veterinary centre which was completed just last year.  The only older donkey that did not get any dental treatment was Jacko.  He frets badly when he is visited by the farrier or the vet - a fact confirmed by his previous owner - and we decided to spare him the stress at this time. He certainly is not showing any signs of having dental problems and he will be watched carefully in case the need arises in the future.

"Ready for my close-up"
The next donkey to receive attention was Donovan - a small scab on his right cheek was noticed last summer and a watch kept on it.  As the year wore on, it started to spread which confirmed our fears that yet another sarcoid had developed.  The cytotoxic cream was ordered from Liverpool University and once it was delivered, was applied by the vet.  Initially, five applications over two weeks are required and then there is a waiting period while the cream carries out its work.  Within a couple of days, the sarcoid can be seen to alter in appearance  but it does take some time before the sarcoid is “killed” off.  We have been successful with the other donkeys that have been treated in this way and hopefully, Donovan will again have a handsome wee face when his sarcoid disappears.  It can look unsightly while all this is going on but fingers crossed, it will be worth it so don’t worry if you see it looking red raw, it doesn’t hurt him – the scab has just been knocked off.

ATTENTION SEEKERS!
Two donkeys like to keep Helen busy demonstrating her knowledge of poulticing equine hooves.  DelBoy and Jock both have fair sized holes in a hoof and she swears that the pair of them go looking for debris to pack in and make themselves lame.  Del Boy has perfected holding up his front hoof when he sees anyone approaching - looking very doleful - in the hope that he will get lots of sympathy and treats!!!  They both wear their “designer” plastic bags that protect the poulticed hoof with great aplomb - just look at us!!!  Jock has just had a front foot treated so no doubt Del Boy will need attention before too long.

Look before you leap
Actually, the animals which are mostly lame just now are the goats.  Barnaby, the wee black and white goat, being a greedy boy, jumps through the wire fences to steal the food from Cinderella, the Kune Kune pig.  One evening, Helen heard screams coming from near Cindy’s pen and on investigation, found Barnaby hanging upside down from the wire fence, caught by a back hoof.  He is an uncatchable little blighter at the best of times so it was very unusual to be able to hold him while disentangling his very sore leg. He will be hopping around for some time but it will get better.  All the other goats have been lame at one time or another since they get mud and debris in between the cleats of their hooves.  They are checked regularly to make sure that this is all that is wrong with them but there is not much that can be done while we are experiencing all this wet weather.

COTTON WOOL PADDING – WE DIDN’T NEED IT
Talking about “hopping about”, we are very glad to report that Mrs. Dale has made it to the next Newsletter without any more accidents. Her broken ankle has mended and she is back out feeding her poultry - being confined to the house for three months was very difficult for such an active lady. No doubt she will be out to greet the visitors again very soon.  Nice to have you back, Mrs. Dale.

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY
During the last two months of 2007, we were very busy with fund-raising events.  In November, we had a table at the TAVO event in Peebles, with the sum of £219.50  being raised.

Pound cakes
In December, a weel kent figure at the sanctuary, Mandy Davis, and her friend, Shona attended Scott’s Selkirk for two days on our behalf and they pressed everyone they knew into making tray bakes and other goodies.  The girls dress in period costume for this event and thankfully, this time, the weather was not as bad as they have experienced in the past.  They raised the magnificent sum of £719.11 including sponsorships.

A rising star
Milestone Garden Centre at Newtown St Boswells had their Christmas Extravaganza weekend at the end of November.  Our darling little Sally Lucy used to appear on both days to promote the sanctuary but with her loss in October, we had to find a replacement. On the Saturday, Millie was on show but we think she has decided her showman days are over since she retired from Blackpool Beach as she did not really settle well.  However, the next day, Dennis tried his hand at meeting the public and we have discovered we have another budding star in our midst.  He positively preened when anyone came forward to admire him and obliged with the occasional hee-haw if he felt he was not getting enough attention!!

A big vote of thanks to everyone who participated in these events - the hard work involved can’t be appreciated until you have tried it!!

A BIG THANK YOU
Over Christmas, we were quite humbled by the number of people who so very generously sent in cheques or cash as a donation to the sanctuary.  No matter the size, large or small, they were all very much appreciated.  Having to seek money constantly to keep the sanctuary going is quite the most difficult part of running a charity and when the morning post reveals voluntary donations, it is a wonderful feeling.  Some of these donations were anonymous and therefore we were unable to write and thank the person - if anyone knows of someone who did this, please tell them how much it was appreciated.  Hopefully, all the other donations were acknowledged properly.  THANK YOU, everyone.

Santa's little helpers
A telephone call from Earlston High School brought Mrs Dale and Helen very good news.  The Asdan Group of pupils from S3 & S4 made and sold sets of wooden Santas to fellow pupils, family and friends.  Such was their success that they raised well over £400 (and could have gone on to make much more had they had the time and energy) and decided to share this between our sanctuary and SSPCA Mellerstain.  The cheques were presented to both charities at a tea hosted by the pupils - Helen is still raving about the home baking provided by the pupils.

Friendly farmers
On 8th December, the members of the Farmers Market in Peebles held their usual raffle for a Christmas Hamper.  The weather that day was diabolical with the result the proceeds were not as much as the stall holders had hoped.  They are very kindly going to run another collection in April at their Easter Fayre and, like the Christmas raffle, the proceeds will be divided between ourselves and the Princess Royal Carers Trust.  Alison Pearson, of Border Beasties, kindly represented the sanctuary on the day to draw the raffle.

Border Beasties
This leads us directly to make mention again of Border Beasties.  Since our charity was founded four years ago, we have been hugely supported by the members of that organisation.  They have fund-raised in every imaginable way to provide for many animal charities in the Borders for a number of years, including ourselves.  Now, however, Alison tells us that they have reluctantly disbanded as a formal group although she and a smaller number of friends will still be “doing their bit” wherever they can.

Generous donations
Three different raffles were given to the sanctuary before Christmas - 3 bottles of wine, gift wrapped;  a gallon bottle of whisky and a superb decorated Christmas Cake, complete with our donkey logo and name on it.  These were drawn in early January and between them raised the sum of £143.  A sincere THANK YOU to the donors of these prizes  - and well done to the winners.

In the frame
Also in December, we were presented with a superb portrait of our DENNIS, drawn by Jude Walczynska, a professional artist.  Jude specialises in animal portraiture and some of her work can be seen on her website www.judewalczynska.com
We are to be allowed to copy the picture for future card sales and are considering at the minute just how best to capitalise on the original.  We could frame and sell it or make it first prize in a large raffle - any ideas would be welcomed.

Future fundraising
As a wee footnote to our fund-raising reports, we have to let you know that Jane Stuart and her team of fund-raisers have decided to disband.  All future efforts will be carried out in-house as they were in the past.  Any suggestions for events or offers of help should be directed to the Helen at the Office.  If there is someone out there who would like to become involved in fund-raising, we would
be delighted to hear from you.

A LONG AND WINDING ROAD?
It has been suggested that it would be a good idea to provide some benches for visitors to sit and enjoy the view if they cannot undertake the whole tour at weekends.  We have ordered these and hopefully they will be in place before too long.  We intend to put a plaque on each to commemorate the donkeys which we have loved and lost in our four years here.  A few picnic tables will also be put in place for use by the visitors. We are not providing the picnics, though!!!!

THE OLDEST DONKEY?
We had an e-mail recently from Australia from someone who was researching the ages to which donkeys and mules live.  We were able to tell him that the oldest donkey we knew about was Foxglove whom Mrs Dale bred in her early days as a donkey stud owner.  Foxglove died at The Holmes, four years ago, at the very old age of 52 years.  However, she did not hold the record as Lively Laddie who lived in the Island of Sark died a couple of years ago having passed the age of 60 years.

POPULARITY CONTEST
We are often asked which is the most popular donkey and which donkey needs sponsorship.  Of course, all the adoption/sponsorship money goes into one fund to be shared amongst all the animals so no donkey receives less than any other.  Just as with humans, it has to be that some animals have more charisma than others - some can pull at the heartstrings more easily - and others have learned the tricks that woo the public - just consider a certain old brown girl (PERKY) who squeaks at the top of her voice before poking her pink tongue out at everyone.  No one can ignore that performance!!

Lilly, the foal that was born in 2006, has lost none of her appeal - her incredible hairy ears and the way she demands to be admired and loved ensured that once more, she is top of the table with twice as many adoptions/sponsorships than the next donkey on the list. Her daddy, Daniel, came second, with Dougal who used to be top of the list before Lilly appeared, coming third, close behind Daniel. Her mum, Millie, as always, is right up there with the leaders.  The list is in the shop for visitors to see the voting order.

lilly2

STAR BACKING?
Mrs Dale was quite excited, watching the Scottish actor Ewan McGregor, enthusing about donkeys on his recent travel programme.  We wrote to him to ask if he would endorse our sanctuary or perhaps even pay us a visit if he was in Scotland.  Sadly, his PA has written to say that he is already involved with a number of charities and organisations and is not taking on any more commitments.  He sends us best wishes for our continued success, however. If anyone has contact with a celebrity interested in animals and donkeys in particular, we would be very happy for him/her to visit for promotion purposes.  

AND THEN THERE WERE - 38
Channel Five is willing to make a programme about us should something of interest happen.  New donkeys coming to the sanctuary and their settling in process are an example.  However, we were unable to contact them in time for them to film the arrival of our latest arrival – LUCY SNOWDROP- a 32 year old grey jenny from Gateshead that had lost its companion pony.  We were contacted initially on Thursday 17th January and on Sunday 20th January, Helen brought her
to the sanctuary.  She appears to have settled in well and made friends with Toffee, the Shetland pony.  She does not think much of our cold Scottish weather but we have provided the wee old Geordie Lass with a nice waterproof rug for outdoors and a warm stable for the cold nights.
Hopefully, we will have a decent Spring and Summer for her to enjoy living here.

OLD NEWS
If anyone would like to receive back copies of our Newsletters, please get in touch.  They can be posted out for a small fee or perhaps e-mailed if the file is not too large.

OPEN ALL HOURS? – NO, NOT QUITE!!
The sanctuary is open every Saturday and Sunday at 2pm for the guided tour of the animals throughout the year so please still come to visit us, even in the depths of Winter - we (the donkeys and the volunteers) will be waiting for you.  Our resident donkeys expect their extra carrots at weekends and need to know that they are adored by the public.

Everyclick
For computer users, another source of fund-raising which has brought us some success is the use of the Every-Click search engine. We get a donation every time you use it to search the Internet.  Click onto http://everyclick.com/uk/scottishbordersdonkeysanctuary and set Everyclick as your home page so that all your surfing benefits Scottish Borders Donkey Sanctuary.  As they say, Give your mouse a heart!!!

CONTACT DETAILS
Office telephone: 01835823468 (answering machine is always on) or mobile number 07773951010. E-mails to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it      
Our website:   www.donkeyheaven.org

The ideal gift
We will have a wider variety of stock in the sanctuary shop this year as we have commissioned our own design for Calico Shopping Bags (with long or short handles); Peg Bags; Carrier Bag Tidies; Tea Towels and Double Oven Gloves.  Some of these items will be for sale through the website too.

The best gift of all is to sponsor a donkey for a friend - you can choose the donkey yourself or even buy Gift Vouchers and your friend can then come to the sanctuary to choose the donkey they fall in love with!!  Sponsorship is still the mainstay of our fund-raising and we would be very obliged if we could all spread the word about this novel idea.  The basic Annual Sponsorship is £18.00 and can also been done on-line through our website www.donkeyheaven.org.  As we told you in "Popularity Contest" there is a 'league table' of sponsored donkeys so if you do not have a favourite try to get some of our adoptees into double figures.  Jacko, Denis, Sparkle and Dillon would love you to adopt them.

A WEE POEM FOR YOU FOR EASTER
THE DONKEY
by: G.K. Chesterton

When fishes flew and forests walked and figs grew upon thorn,
Some moment when the moon was blood
Then surely I was born;
            
With monstrous head and sickening cry
And ears like errant wings,
The devil's walking parody
On all four-footed things.
           
The tattered outlaw of the earth,
Of ancient crooked will;
Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb,
I keep my secret still.
            
Fools! For I also had my hour;
One far fierce hour and sweet:
There was a shout about my ears,
And palms before my feet.