Putting a boot into our original Easter plans… COMPLETED 5/3 - Page 17 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Saturday 31 March – part five: disaster strikes with hot chocolate!
We had a bit of time to kill after this talk finished, as I wanted to do the guided tour of the sanctuary at 2:00pm, so Mark suggested getting a hot drink. First we went over to the marquee near the miniature donkeys to see if we could get a hot chocolate there, but they were only serving cream teas and we had afternoon tea to look forward to in a couple of hours’ time at the hotel.
As the marquee was near my minis, I had to have a quick look in on them…. William was busy hoovering up straw….
… and even Benji was sticking his head out.
We decided to try the main restaurant, but it was lunchtime and the line for that was practically out of the door. Oh well, so long as the Donkey Sanctuary are making money today, that’s the main thing. However, we did still want something hot to drink, as it was cold out.
Mark remembered there was a little hut serving up snacks, so we headed over there to see what drinks they did and they did hot chocolate, so we got one each, while Mark got a sausage roll and I got a bag of chips.
We sat down outside to enjoy it, albeit in the cold, but at least we could use the hot chocolate as a hand warmer. As I went to take the first sip of mine, disaster struck and the lid came off, sending hot chocolate all over me, my top, my jeans and my camera. I couldn’t believe it. I told Mark what had happened and he just sat there, I think unable to comprehend the situation. I didn’t have anything to wipe it up with, so told him to go back to the hut to get something. I will be honest, I was more concerned about my camera, but thankfully it continued to work, although the display screen was a little sticky, shall we say? Mark was more worried about me being burnt, but I wasn’t. I was more worried about my top and my jeans, but once it dried, you couldn’t see anything, so a lucky escape all round I think.
We headed back to the visitor reception just before 2:00pm for the guided tour and asked where to wait. We were told just outside by Lucky the Donkey, who was giving hugs to the kids. I couldn’t resist and asked for one and look what I got! Good donkey!
There was a very entertaining conversation about how Lucky didn’t like Eeyore. The staff members asked if Lucky wanted to go to Florida and he was very enthusiastic about that. Apparently he wanted to go on the rides, but when asked if he’d get into a fight with Eeyore, he was thankfully good and said he wouldn’t.
It turned out that our guide would be the volunteer Jill, who we already know, and when she came to find us, we were the only ones on the tour. A woman joined us a few minutes later, but that was it, which was nice, although of course people did listen in as she was talking at various spots. Normally, the tour would be a lot more encompassing of the site, but quite a bit of it was inaccessible, as it was so muddy and, with me on the mobility scooter, trying to get to the muddy bits wasn’t an option. This is why I chose adoption donkeys that are in the paved areas, so we can always see them.
Gill started off by explaining about the history of the sanctuary. It was started in 1969 by Dr. Elisabeth Svendsen, affectionately known today by everyone at the sanctuary as Dr. S. Sadly, she passed away in 2011, but my goodness, her legacy lives on.
She’d always liked donkeys and after a successful life in business, she and her husband bought a hotel in Devon that was run down with eight acres of ground, so that she could keep some donkeys of her own. Naughty Face was the first to arrive and she then took on another seven, after finding them in a terrible state. It was at that point, when she saw the state of them, that she decided the rest of her life would be dedicated to saving donkeys in distress.
In 1974, Dr. S. was left a legacy, but a very unusual one. It wasn’t money though. It was 204 donkeys. She was told to take as many as she could, otherwise any she couldn’t take would be shot. Needless to say, she took them all on and that’s where the sanctuary really started in big numbers…
Today, the Donkey Sanctuary has given more than 15,500 donkeys and mules lifelong care in the UK, Ireland and mainland Europe. They work in a total of 40 countries.
The other aspect of the Donkey Sanctuary’s work is the donkey assisted therapy, as I mentioned earlier. It used to be all about children riding donkeys, but these days, it’s more about them spending time interacting with the donkeys. They do more than that though. They take donkeys out into the community and particularly into old people’s homes. They even take the donkeys up in elevators to visit the elevators, which I just think is amazing.
We then talked about all sorts of things, including how donkeys have six different noises they make and apparently you hear every single one of them when they’re let out into the fields in the spring for the first time, as they’re so excited. I’d love to be here to see that. They were let out weeks ago, but haven’t been out for a while, due to the rain and the snow. She also explained that every donkey’s bray is different, which I already had an idea about.
We talked about the sanctuary’s work all over the world and how vital it is, because donkeys don’t show weaknesses. It’s part of their survival trait, but obviously it makes it very difficult to know when they’re suffering and need help, as they just keep going.
She told us that they’re now helping something like 1.6 million donkeys, but their aim is to help two million by the end of this year. Days like this will certainly help them to raise the money to do that.
Aaahhh!! Good thing the hot chocolate wasn't too hot - and your camera survived too! And how lucky it didn't get your clothes discolored either. I hope you still had some left to drink though.
The pics with Lucky are super cute, but I can't help think how much cuter it'd be with Eeyore instead. And of course he wouldn't fight Eeyore, they'd be friends! That is a pretty cute donkey costume though!
I had no idea this Donkey Sanctuary was worldwide! That's awesome! Dr. S sounded like a wonderful lady. Thank goodness she started this so many years ago.
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What a great story, its amazing how many donkeys they have helped. Glad you didn’t get burnt with the hot chocolate and that your camera was ok.
That was such a relief. I did notice just now when I was taking photos of our cherry blossom tree (it's finally in bloom! ) that the viewfinder is dirty. I wondered why, then I remembered what happened to it. I need to give it a clean at some point...
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I too love the story of the Donkey Sanctuary!! I never tire of hearing that there are some truly good people in this world!!
Sometimes it's very easy to forget that isn't that with all the terrible news around. Thankfully there are still a lot of good people - and these boards are evidence of that.
Aaahhh!! Good thing the hot chocolate wasn't too hot - and your camera survived too! And how lucky it didn't get your clothes discolored either. I hope you still had some left to drink though.
To be honest, I wasn't overly bothered with it after that. I was warm.. oddly enough... and that was one of the main reasons I had the hot chocolate!
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The pics with Lucky are super cute, but I can't help think how much cuter it'd be with Eeyore instead.
Oh my goodness yes - you can't ever beat Eeyore!
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And of course he wouldn't fight Eeyore, they'd be friends! That is a pretty cute donkey costume though!
I had no idea this Donkey Sanctuary was worldwide! That's awesome! Dr. S sounded like a wonderful lady. Thank goodness she started this so many years ago.
Yes and getting bigger every year, which is wonderful in one way, but sad in another that they need to keep expanding their work.
Too bad about the hot chocolate situation! Glad all was well and you weren't burnt and your camera was fine! Nice photos with Lucky that you seemed to enjoy. Very interesting in the history of the Sanctuary. I didn't realize how many donkeys they have given direct care to and the nearly two million others in other assistance around the world! Quite an amazing organization.
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
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Too bad about the hot chocolate situation! Glad all was well and you weren't burnt and your camera was fine!
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Nice photos with Lucky that you seemed to enjoy. Very interesting in the history of the Sanctuary. I didn't realize how many donkeys they have given direct care to and the nearly two million others in other assistance around the world! Quite an amazing organization.
Saturday 31 March – part six: Little Vijay amazes everyone
On our guided tour, we then headed into the main yard and inside, where both my adopted girls were, although I couldn’t get a good shot of Bonnie, so I made do with Floppy and I am not making up her name – it’s on her collar!
I did manage to get one shot of Bonnie…
Gill amazed me with her knowledge of all the donkeys in here and how she could instantly point them out to us. I know a couple, but there must about 50 in total and I swear she knows every single one. Very impressive!
Gill then took us up to the beach boxes and said she’d leave the tour to me, as I knew these little guys better than she did. We were both talking about little Vijay and how he didn’t like people and had to be taken off the adoption list, when the most amazing thing happened. Look at this…
Gill, Mark and I were all astounded. Vijay never does this. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him petted on the webcam during all the time I’ve been watching it, never mind going right up to a crowd so purposefully and putting his head through the fence. It was just unbelievable, even more so when you bear in mind one of the staff members had told us earlier that they were about to put Vijay down a month ago, as he was getting in such a bad way. They said they reckon he knew, as he perked up completely and that’s true, as I’d seen him running around on the webcam over the last couple of weeks, which again he never does. I guess he overheard and was like “it’s not my time yet!”
While we were there, Gill said “that’s it, we won’t see anymore, they’re all happy inside” and so they appeared to be, until a man climbed over the fence. We assumed they were going to feed the minis and so did they, so they all came out…
They were to be disappointed, as he was disposing of water down the drain in their yard. I had to warn him about one of the donkeys, who was getting very curious. He was like “yeah” and then realised it was he hadn’t seen, who’d crept right up on him!
Poor old William… so disappointed he couldn’t get out into the field…
Our final stop was the rehoming area and this is where they bring donkeys just before they’re about to go out to new homes as part of the fostering scheme. Gill explained that anything can put a stop to the process, literally right up until the day – for example, if a donkey’s temperament changes or if they get a skin condition and apparently one fostering move was stopped on the day for exactly that reason.
When they foster out, they send the donkey and their bonded friend or their group. Donkeys either bond for life with one friend or have a couple. As there were three in the paddock, I guess none have pair bonded, but as they’re a group, they’ll go together. It helps to minimise stress on the donkeys.
Because of where we ended the tour, I suggested going back to the beach boxes one final time, as trying to do a three point turn where people were waiting for the tractor trailer rides would’ve been a nightmare and I think I would’ve taken someone out!
We got to see my beautiful minis one last time…
Then we made our way back, with me heading back to the car when we got to the car park and Mark getting the opportunity to ride the mobility scooter back. It made sense, as it was less walking for me and I think he had fun!
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As I went to take the first sip of mine, disaster struck and the lid came off, sending hot chocolate all over me, my top, my jeans and my camera. I couldn’t believe it. I told Mark what had happened and he just sat there, I think unable to comprehend the situation. I didn’t have anything to wipe it up with, so told him to go back to the hut to get something. I will be honest, I was more concerned about my camera, but thankfully it continued to work, although the display screen was a little sticky, shall we say? 
Mark was more worried about me being burnt, but I wasn’t. I was more worried about my top and my jeans, but once it dried, you couldn’t see anything, so a lucky escape all round I think. 
She was told to take as many as she could, otherwise any she couldn’t take would be shot. 
Needless to say, she took them all on and that’s where the sanctuary really started in big numbers… 
She also explained that every donkey’s bray is different, which I already had an idea about. 
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) that the viewfinder is dirty. I wondered why, then I remembered what happened to it. I need to give it a clean at some point...
Glad all was well and you weren't burnt and your camera was fine! 
I don’t think I’ve ever seen him petted on the webcam during all the time I’ve been watching it, never mind going right up to a crowd so purposefully and putting his head through the fence. It was just unbelievable, even more so when you bear in mind one of the staff members had told us earlier that they were about to put Vijay down a month ago, as he was getting in such a bad way. They said they reckon he knew, as he perked up completely and that’s true, as I’d seen him running around on the webcam over the last couple of weeks, which again he never does. 
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