Will she ever learn?
Wednesday, 09 July 2008
Will she ever learn?
Last time, we told about the arrival of several donkeys from France. The first to make his home with us was CAZAUX, known to us all as JAKE.  This 9 year old donkey stallion arrived in appalling condition but still with plenty of attitude.  One visitor described his appearance as grotty and tatty and this was very true.  However, in due course Jake was gelded and turned out to good grass with companions and now is a large, sleek, glossy, dark brown donkey, greatly admired by all his visitors.
He charges up to the gate, lays his immense ears flat back on his neck and bares his huge teeth at everyone.  We have a hard job telling the visitors that this is his way of greeting people and he is really SMILING at then – not about to EAT them!
When offered his carrots, Jake tucks in along with the others and is very happy for anyone to pet and clap him.
Jake was followed from France by ANT & DEC.  These two small grey donkeys have been gelded and given lots of TLC to turn them into the happy, young donkeys that skip happily across the field to meet the weekend visitors.  They were not too enamoured to have to share the lawn for a short period with the two female KuneKune pigs and having their field shelter taken over from time to time by the piggies caused a bit of grief but they did all, in fact, manage to live happily together. 
The two minis are currently sharing the large paddock with the Clydesdale horse, Grizelda and the Connemara cross pony, Kizzie who don’t seem to mind the two little donkeys prancing about.

April saw the arrival of Charlotte and Kofi, also from France.  The little dark brown jenny with the dreadful feet and skin now has a shiny, healthy coat and our farrier has worked his magic on her hooves.  Kofi is just a delight.  Everyone who meets him instantly falls in love with this imitation creamy coloured Highland Cow!
He is so dependent on Charlotte, following her everywhere and the little madam looks out for him – except when there is food being offered.  Under those conditions, Charlotte will kick and fight her way to the front.  Like many rescued animals which have been deprived of food in the past, she is fiercely determined that that will never be the case again.  (Our Jethro is another donkey with this problem).
Charlotte and Kofi share the large paddock beside the car park with our elderly donkeys. 

One of the delights of Helen’s days at the sanctuary is to watch Kofi trot across his paddock, knee deep in buttercups, his long silky coat floating in the breeze.  She says it is like watching something out of a Disney movie!

But the story didn’t end there!
Having told the transporter that she didn’t want him to darken her doors again as there were more than enough French donkeys at the sanctuary, our silly administrator did it again!!!  On the website which has been mentioned many times before, www.equinesection.com  she found an 11 year old skewbald donkey stallion. 
Helen thought he was a very handsome lad and that it was such a shame that he was destined to go for meat in Italy. His beautifully marked white coat with brown and black patches would be turned into a fireside rug or something similar.  His photograph stayed on the site for some time which meant that his days were becoming numbered when a group of people got together to fund his purchase and guess what?, Patch has found a new home in DonkeyHeaven!!!  To keep him company on his journey to Scotland, a small 2 year old donkey jenny called Coquette was also brought over and she has settled in well with the other young donkeys already.

Patch will have to be gelded as soon as weather conditions allow before we can put him into a field of other donkeys but in the meantime, he can speak to them over the fence so that he does not think he is being completely isolated.

Neither of these donkeys was in poor condition but both were on a French fattening farm and would probably have ended up in an Italian slaughterhouse.  All our French donkeys have been spared that fate.
 
The Scottish Borders Donkey Sanctuary is a charity registered in Scotland and depends on public support in order to carry out its good work. Charity No: SC 034 634