Israel and Romeo

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Although much of the focus remains on Olivia, who is doing well as you will see in the next blog posting, given that there have now been 29 rescues, we want to take time to give you the stories of some of the other donkeys.

 

Israel was the 3rd Donkey at Donkey Dreamland and arrived just 3 days after Romeo and Juliet. He came from Torrox a town east of Malaga (near Nerja for those of you that know the area). He had been living in a small chicken coop and seemingly fed mostly on stale bread. He had been castrated, which was good, but he had no documents.

 

A neighbour denounced the owner and sent Amaya photos hoping that she might be able to help. Amaya went and spoke with the owner and the owner agreed to give him up for rescue.

 

Although there is no detailed proof of his history, the suspicion is that he was taken from his mother at a very young age and had been on his own for most of his 7 years as he didn’t know how to interact with other donkeys. When he arrived at Donkey Dreamland he was placed in a stable on his own, but after one day was placed in a paddock with Romeo and Juliet. After a couple of days, Romeo and Israel started a process of bonding, running around and occasionally playing together and after a few days they were fully bonded and are now inseparable. When a forever home is found, they will not be separated. They will be rehomed together.

 

Please share this blog as much as you can and hopefully that will help with donations. If you are able to provide some monthly support from €10 or more, please follow the link below:

Alternatively, for just €1 per month you could become one of our TEAMERS. It may not seem like much, but Teaming is an online tool to raise funds in favour of social causes with micro donations of 1€ a month. The philosophy is based on the idea that 1€ does not have much of an impact if donated alone, but if we join forces, we can make beautiful projects possible. It will take time, but with your support spreading the word, one day we might have sufficient Teamers to help ensure each month’s cost are met, leaving Amaya and the volunteers free to focus on the Rescue, Recuerating and Rehoming of more and more donkeys.

Update on Olivia – Our newest rescue

Olivia has been with us for over a week now and she is improving everyday. It will be a very long process and there are no guarantees, because when she is strong enough, she will need surgery, which is always risky at the best of times.

 

However, she is alot more relaxed and she is getting stronger. We are even beginning to see traits of her character, so she must be gaining some confidence. Yesterday, whilst Amaya was busy with some volunteers, Olivia sneakily entered our terrace and helped herself to a basket full of mandarins plus a couple of plot plants! And then duly took herslef back to her stable and lay down with a look on her face which basically said “It wasn’t me!”. Our recently departed Pepe used to do that all of the time, so it’s no surprise when we hear many of the volunteers say how much Olivia reminds them of Pepe. 

The vet is doing another assessment with her today and we will let you know what he has to say in due course, but she is definitely getting stronger and that means we are getting closer to being able togive her surgery. In addition to having to fund that, we are also trying to build up a regular reliable income so that we don’t have to do “one-off” fundraising drives wheneverwe have to rescue another helpless donkey. To that end, we are asking for your help to increase the number of monthly donating supporters helping us meet the ongoing costs of the sanctuary. Please share this blog as much as you can and hopefully that will help with donations. If you are able to provide some monthly support from €10 or more, please follow the link below:

Alternatively, for just €1 per month you could become one of our TEAMERS. It may not seem like much, but Teaming is an online tool to raise funds in favour of social causes with micro donations of 1€ a month. The philosophy is based on the idea that 1€ does not have much of an impact if donated alone, but if we join forces, we can make beautiful projects possible. It will take time, but with your support spreading the word, one day we might have sufficient Teamers to help ensure each month’s cost are met, leaving Amaya and the volunteers free to focus on the Rescue, Recuerating and Rehoming of more and more donkeys.

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Saturday 5/02/2022. A brief glimpse into the daily activity at Donkey Dreamland.

As followers of our blog will know, Olivia, our newest rescue is now with us. 😊❤ She has had two visits from our vet… and he recommends we give her time and lots of love before making any big decisions. We are on it. We love you OLIVIA.❤

Amaya’s cat Mellie had an amazing connection and bond with Pepe, our much missed donkey who passed away just a few weeks ago. Many of us see a great deal of Pepe in Olivia, and as this short video shows, Olivia and Mellie are bonding in much the same way. Seeing interactions like this brings tears of joy to our eyes. Towards the end of the video we can see that Olivia is still struggling to walk – but every day sees her improving and we are so proud of her. More on Olivia’s progress over the coming days, but in the meantime, yesterday was a busy but fun day. See more below….

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There were donkey walks, donkey treatments and donkey maintenance. The team of volunteers do amazing work, and yesterday was no exception.

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Olivia Arrives at Donkey Dreamland

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Another Urgent Rescue

Today we found out about a poor donkey which has been tied up and is constantly attacked by wild dogs. We are rescuing OLIVIA. She should arrive at the sancuary tomorrow and we will post further details of her arrival. Upon arrival she will have to be quarantined for a while as she is certain to have infections, plus she will need time alone to recover and get back her confidence. 

Help us to help Olivia by donating today…

 

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Donkey Dreamland Mission Statement

Although Donkey Dreamland’s mission statement is “Rescue, Recuperate and Rehome”, do you know that there is a bit more to Donkey Dreamland?

Unfortunately it all costs money. When we rehome a donkey, we do not “sell them” nor ask for donations, as the priority is to ensure they go to a loving home. Occasionally, we even rehome donkeys on a foster basis, where Donkey Dreamland pays for ongoing costs such a vet and farrier bills, as this allows the donkeys to receive more individual love and attention AND frees up space at the sanctuary so that we can rescue more donkeys in need. So far, we have rehomed 14 donkeys – and they are all loving their new forever homes. However, the priority is to find them loving forever homes where their new owner can meet the ongoing costs associated with having the joy of donkeys living with them.

Therapy

Donkey Dreamland also works with local practitioners and organisations proving Donkey Assisted Therapy, where we work to improve human and donkey’s well-being based on therapeutic interactions that benefit both parts.”

The goal of Donkey Assisted Therapy (DAT) is to improve a patient’s emotional, social and or cognitive functioning. DAT helps patients to develop life skills such as communication, decision making, coping and management skills plus critical thinking

DAT also benefits children with disabilities under rehabilitation with depression by making them happier, lessening depression, and improving their outlook on life. It also helps decrease sense of loneliness and isolation by giving them a companion, reduction of boredom and anxiety because of its calming effects and helping children learn empathic and nurturing skills and improving the relationship between children with disabilities and the healthcare and psychosocial therapy provider.

Education

In addition to hosting school visits, where the children learn about the donkeys and donkey welfare, as well as having an opportunity to interact with some of the rescued donkeys, Donkey Dreamland also works to educate people about donkey welfare.

According to an extraordinary article in The Olive Press whilst most Spaniards today love animals, there are still pockets of the country where strange and sickening rituals see animals suffer torturous treatment or death – just for the so called fun of it.

Fortunately, as per El Pais these practices will soon be outlawed, if they are not already, as at the beginning of 2022 animals are now considered to be sentient beings, meaning they can no longer be seized, mortgaged, abandoned, or mistreated or removed from one of their owners in the case of a separation or divorce. These changes are now in force under Spanish law.

But whilst changing the law is a massive step in the right direction, educating people about animal welfare and animal rights – plus making them aware of the changes in the law – are vitally important. As well as working with International, National and local media Donkey Dreamland visits local communities to give advice and assistance, with the hope that one day, the need for animal sanctuaries will drastically reduce.

However, in the meantime, it costs money to help these beautiful animals. In addition to day-to-day welfare, food, water and cures, there are regular veterinary and farrier bills, plus animal transport costs, not to mention the administration costs of dealing with the authorities. And whilst most of the helpers at Donkey Dreamland are volunteers and help out fee of charge, occasionally there is a need to have a very small skeleton staff to ensure everything is well managed and runs smoothly.

Ignoring the ongoing maintenance, any rescue is likely to cost a minimum of €1,000 due to the costs of transport, veterinarian treatment and assessments (which invariably includes castration for males).  With 28 rescues to-date, that adds up to a great deal of money, which is totally funded by generous donations as Donkey Dreamland receives no government funding.

Can you help?

Whilst a monthly donation of €1 may not seem much – and indeed at less than the cost of a cup of coffee per month it is not really that much – if just half of our followers made this monthly commitment, we would be able to continue with our work safe in the knowledge that our funding is secure. You can make this contribution by become one of our TEAMERS.

Teaming is an online tool to raise funds for social causes through micro donations of €1 per month. The Teaming philosophy is based on the idea that with €1, we alone cannot do much, but if we join together, we can achieve great things. Teaming is totally free of charge – there are no admin fees or bank charges and there are currently over 400,000 Teamers donating to over 13,000 Teaming Groups. Donkey Dreamland is now one of these groups and you can help us achieve great things by joining our TEAM: https://www.teaming.net/donkeydreamland 

Of course some people would like to contribute more than €1 per month and whilst Teaming does not offer this option, you can make whatever monthly contribution you wish by sponsoring an individual donkey, or subscribing to make a monthly donation: https://donkeydreamland.com/sponsor/ and in return to get a certificate with a picture of your chosen sponsored donkey.