A LONG AND WINDING ROAD?
Some park benches, with more to come, have been installed around the sanctuary so that visitors can have a rest while others enjoy feeding the donkeys at each paddock.  The names of donkeys which we have loved and lost will be put on each to keep them in our memory - to date - Jack, Sam, Suzie, Daisy and Sally Lucy.

Money, Money, Money
On 14th June, a young supporter of the sanctuary, DEAN BROWN , aged 13, will join three adults to walk from Cameron Toll in Edinburgh to Galashiels to raise money for our charity. We shall have a donkey waiting to meet Dean when he arrives at Car Parts4U around teatime.  If any kind person would like to sponsor Dean, please get in touch with us or contact Dean direct at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Mrs Hill from Stow compiled an interesting donkey quiz questionnaire that she sold through several outlets in the Borders.  She raised the sum of £75 and we are very grateful to Mrs. Hill for all her hard work.

S-H-O-P-P-I-N-G!
Our own design for Calico Shopping Bags (with long or short handles); Peg Bags; Carrier Bag Tidies; Tea Towels and Double Oven gloves are now available in the shop.  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 or relative - you can choose the donkey yourself or even buy Gift Vouchers and the person receiving the gift 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.

MORE WAYS TO HELP US RAISE FUNDS
We are pleased to announce our new partnership with environmental company Cartridges4Causes. We will be working with C4C to raise funds for our charity by promoting their two excellent schemes. You can now buy all your ink and toner cartridges from C4C at greatly reduced prices and each cartridge purchased will generate a donation for us. To take advantage of this offer call 08008818150 or visit their website. Then you can help save our environment and help us by recycling your used ink cartridges, toner cartridges and unwanted mobile phones by returning them to C4C for recycling. We will receive another donation for every item that is recycled. To see how you can help please visit www.cartridges4causes.co.uk/recycling. or call 08454667147.

EXPERIENCE A DAY IN DONKEY HEAVEN
On one day in each of the months of June, July and August, the sanctuary will be holding a Donkey Heaven Experience Day.  This will be open to just 5 people (minimum age 16 years) who will be able to come to the sanctuary to look after a donkey for most of the day.  We are keeping the numbers low in the interests of Health & Safety and each person will be accompanied by an experienced sanctuary volunteer. If you would like to take part, please contact us for a leaflet which will explain in more detail.  Cost for the day is £50 per person and it will be booked on a first-come, first-served basis.

BECOMING FAMOUS?
Milestone Garden Centre, Newtown St Boswells held an Easter Extravaganza, inviting local businesses to contribute Easter Eggs, soft toys, etc to be distributed to children in hospital. - Mrs. Dale was interviewed on Borders Radio when she called to donate several donkey soft toys. She is a natural at that sort of thing. The Sanctuary featured in an article in Scotland on Sunday when a young lady (aged 9 years)from Penicuik wrote in to say visiting our donkeys was her very favourite day out - we have to agree with her!!! We also featured in Feb 2008 edition of Scottish Home & Country - the magazine for WRI members.  A lady wrote in to say how much she had enjoyed her visit and was encouraging more members to bring their families and friends along - or else a "Rural" visit as part of their diary!

THESE ARE A FEW OF OUR FAVOURITE THINGS
Donkeys ambling/trotting/cantering over the field to meet their visitors at weekends.
Donkeys contentedly scratching and grooming each other
Donkeys playing chase and tag in the fields
Donkeys happily munching the carrots being offered by all ages of visitors.
Donkeys in shiny, sleek summer coats, looking healthy and happy
Donkeys in thick, fluffy, winter coats, looking healthy and happy.
The noisy welcome in the mornings when the winter feeds are being made up.
Seeing the improvement in the health of any donkey which has been unwell.
All the different seasons at The Holmes - its beauty never fails to surprise us.
The unstinting dedicaton of our volunteers - always willing to help in every way.
The generosity and kindness shown by all our loyal supporters in many different ways.
The intent look on the face of a child when feeding a donkey, possibly for the first time.
                AND
The last cup of tea at the end the weekend visits in the volunteers' room.

HEATHER THE WEATHER
Since the February Newsletter went out, and following our moans about having been cold, wet and generally cheesed off with the weather, Guess what? We have spent the last three months being cold, wet and generally cheesed off with the weather!!!  Helen's not entirely convinced it is just her old age that is making her feel like that but this seems like it has been a very long winter with no real break since November.  The cold winds and continual wintry showers of sleet and snow have held back the grass and the fields are water-logged in some places and mud baths in others.  Surely going into May, there will be a warming up and we will all be moaning about it being too hot and the lack of rain!!!  Some chance!!!

GEORDIE LASS
We are very happy to report that LUCY SNOWDROP has settled in to life at the sanctuary and has made firm friends with Highland Toffee, our chestnut Shetland Pony.  It turned out that her companion in Gateshead had been a chestnut crossbred Shetland Pony - and the reason Lucy came to us was that this pony had sadly died.  It was a lot taller than Toffee and Lucy must wonder why her pal has shrunk but it is good to watch them contentedly scratching each other in the paddock. Cruelty in Animal Transport In previous Newsletters, we have told about a website that attempts to find new homes for equines in Europe that are being transported to Italy for slaughter and the meat trade.  For many years, organisations such as ILPH and RSPCA have tried to have the trade regulated and laws have been brought in by Brussels to make things better for these poor beasts while being transported but it still goes on.  The UK is very strict about the movement of animals but the same standards do not seem to apply in Europe even if the laws are the same.  At the present time, ILPH is compiling a petition to make more protest and to help by adding your backing to end this barbaric practice, please go to www.ilph.org/makeanoise/           

THE FRENCH CONNECTION
The website mentioned overleaf is www.equinesection.com  a not-for-profit organisation run by dedicated volunteers.  We were approached in February by a lady from Dumfries & Galloway who had raised money to bring two donkeys listed on the website to Scotland.  She wanted to keep a 4 year old jenny and asked if we would give a home to a 9 year old stallion.  Vodka and Cazaux duly arrived at the sanctuary in the early hours of a Saturday morning in March and put into cosy stables.  Poor Vodka was terrified out of her wits and stood shaking in the corner.  Cazaux was just glad to be in a stable and settled down for a good sleep - typical man!!!  On closer inspection in the morning, both donkeys were found to be lice-ridden, worm laden and emaciated.  The lice and worms were treated and a feeding regime put in place.  Much TLC was required for Vodka and we are very pleased to say that the following Saturday, her new owner, Louise, turned up to collect her and was amazed to see Vodka walk calmly out of her stable, take a turn round the yard to say goodbye to the volunteers and walk quietly up the ramp onto Louise's trailer for her final journey. Louise keeps in touch regularly and has reported that Vodka is making slow but steady progress, gaining confidence and making friends with her other two donkeys.  She is putting on weight and one day will be a very large handsome jenny.

Our Cazaux had to stay in his stable with daily roams round the yard while his box was being cleaned out, until the weather improved.  Being a stallion, he had to be gelded to allow him to stay at the sanctuary and this can only be done under proper conditions.  This has now been done and Cazaux is out in one of the paddocks about to be given some new companions. He still has to put on a lot of weight before he looks like the rest of our donkeys and his coat is very tatty but come the end of the summer, we know we will have a big, handsome boy on our hands.  He has a fantastic temperament and a very loud heehaw - we don't know if he brays in French or not!!!

Having seen the condition of these two donkeys, it was very easy for us to decide to bring two more donkeys to the sanctuary when we saw the advert for four very young miniature donkeys on the website.  The two youngest were described as being 8 months and one year old, the older two being described as two year olds.  A lady in Fife offered to take two and we agreed between us that the sanctuary would accept the two in poorest condition off the lorry. 

ANT & DEC were in the same state as Vodka and Cazaux with the addition of ticks as well.  They are slowly responding to the treatments and good food but it was quite a revelation when our vet announced that Ant was 3 years old and Dec was 5 years old.  As he has many years experience of aging equines, we prefer to believe our vet rather than the bits of paperwork that accompanied the donkeys.  It is actually more worrying that Ant is that age as it was thought that he might have been newly weaned from his mother and showing signs of stress as a result.  Instead we have an emaciated 3 year old colt but at least we now know what we are dealing with.   In due course, both these boys will have to be gelded but not until they are fit enough.

AND THEN THERE WERE MORE!
With the above experiences, you would think that Helen would have had enough of her French visitors but she made the mistake of looking at the website once more and instantly fell in love with what looked like a shaggy coffee and cream coloured Highland Cow - no horns but big ears!!! Also on the site was a moth-eaten dark brown jenny, described as being 20 years old and possibly pregnant as she had been running with entire boys.  There was no way she was going to be allowed to end up in an Italian slaughterhouse, so she was also purchased and they both arrived at the sanctuary in the middle of April.  This time, in addition to the standard lice, worms and emaciation we have come to expect, the old jenny's hooves were the worst anyone at the sanctuary had ever seen.  She had difficulty walking properly but could get around well enough.  Our farrier has already brought his skills to bear but it will be a long job to get them into proper shape, if ever.  Her papers state her name as CHARLOTTE and give her year of birth as 1996.  Our vet says this could be true.

charlotte_kofi_c
The CoffeeBoy's name on his papers is TIBURS and he is described as being born in 2007.  On examination, his teeth show him to be coming up for 5 years old.  To make matters even more complicated, we were originally told that he was entire and we asked for him to be gelded before he came to the UK because we already had 3 entire boys on our hands in Cazaux, Ant & Dec.  The French vet who examined him said he thought the donkey had either already been gelded or else he was not mature enough.  Our vet was able to advise that our Coffee Boy was certainly a stallion and would need to be gelded.  Thank Goodness for UK vets.  Tiburs will be known as KOFI  here.

VETERINARY CORNER
As you have already read, we have been keeping the vet busy these last three months with more to come.  Apart from over-seeing the progress of the French donkeys, he has been treating sarcoids again. Last time, we told you about Donovan having the sarcoid on his face treated.  This was initially successful but has returned again in the same place.  In addition, a much larger string of sarcoids have grown at the top of the inside of his right foreleg.  These were all treated with cytotoxic cream from Liverpool University and we shall have to wait and see if it has zapped them this time.  The vet also treated Hamish's sarcoid.  It is at the top of his throat and has looked very unsightly for a long time.  We are keeping our fingers crossed that we have seen the back of sarcoids on Hamish who has had them on his legs in the past.

VET OPEN DAY
An open day is to be held at the premises of our vets - Reed, Brown & Cameron, Greenside Farm, St.Boswells on the morning of  24 May, 2008 as one of the activities held during Borders Festival of the Horse..  We intend to take along one, perhaps two donkey(s) for visitors to meet.  A retiral collection will be held with the proceeds being divided between ourselves and Arthurshiel Rescue Centre for Dogs, St.Boswells.

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.

 

AND FINALLY- EXPERIENCE A DAY IN DONKEY HEAVEN
On one day in each of the months of June, July and August, the sanctuary will be holding a Donkey Heaven Experience Day.  This will be open to just 5 people (minimum age 16 years) who will be able to come to the sanctuary to look after a donkey for most of the day.  We are keeping the numbers low in the interests of Health & Safety and each person will be accompanied by an experienced sanctuary volunteer. If you would like to take part, please contact us for a leaflet which will explain in more detail.  Cost for the day is £50 per person and it will be booked on a first-come, first-served basis.