Spring 2013

At the moment of writing, spring had officially started, but temperatures sadly haven’t climbed yet... It has been a long and gloomy winter which still seems to linger…

Hopefully, this will change soon, the grass will start growing and the donkeys can enjoy the happier season again.

This winter has been pretty busy again, but luckily I don’t have to do everything by myself. Fortunately I have some people helping me out, and I would hereby like to thank them:

Henk Maas for helping out on Thursdays;

Virginie Tiercin for helping out on Tuesday mornings;

Rineke Maas for her cooking, so that I can enjoy a hot meal every now and then;

Jan S. for keeping the website up to date;

Christine Penel for the French translations;

Krista Hendriks for the English translations;

And a big thanks to all of you who support the donkey shelter, making it possible to continue this work.

For that matter, sometimes the shelter receives a donation, but the donator doesn’t leave enough information for me to be able to thank them. Please contact me if you have donated, but haven’t heard from me since.

Postcard contest results:

It has been a while and some of you were getting very impatient... But after looking at all postcards, the jury has come to a final, unanimous decision.

I have received a total of 68 postcards. All of the cards where sent by Dutch donkey fans…!

First prize was won by Tatiana de Vries. She sent a big plasticized card with a number of (old) donkey pictures on it. She is the winner of a weekend stay for two at the donkey shelter.

Second prize goes to ‘Bowing to the donkey’, sent in by Anke van der Hoeven.

A special prize goes to Lianne van Haperen and Anke van der Hoeven, who both sent me a large number of postcards.

All postcards will be permanently put up in the stables.

1

prize

Second column by Henk Maas:

Talking about friendship…

During my time here at the shelter I have learned a lot about donkeys. The first things I learned, was that I shouldn’t make any sudden movements and that I should let the donkeys come to me in stead of approaching them. Donkeys are very curious by nature. So stand still and they will come and check you out.

Never stand or work behind a donkey, they panic quickly and then start kicking.

Luckily, Walter has told me this many times and I make sure to work by these rules. I have been working here for about two years and I have started loving these animals, too.

They are so lovely and cuddly and they make you feel very special.

I have developed a strong connection to some of the donkeys, like Poupoune. We met her on a Sunday and she had been standing alone for 14 years. The owner didn’t want to take care of her anymore because her husband had passed away. Walter was surprised that she didn’t object to anything and just stepped into our trailer. When we arrived home we found out that she is 100% per cent blind… But here at the shelter she is very happy. She bumps her head quite a lot, but she lives a happy life again.

When she hears your voice, she will come looking for you, and she won’t leave your side. A loveley donkey.

And there are many more, like little Sophie, who has stomach problems but who is so adorable.

Or Fanchon, who suffers from rheumatism and is barely able to walk. But he still likes to cuddle!

Mother and daughter Junon and Judith are also a nice couple, always separate in the pastures but very very cuddly. So you see, I don’t just clean stables around here!

In the summer we usually go for a walk with the donkeys that normally stay at the farm. They can eat some fresh grass then, but we are always mindful of not bumping into our grumpy neighbour Thierry who is not too fond of us…

Bur it’s not all roses there... Sometimes there are days that we have to say goodbye to our friends. That too is a part of life. It hurts to see my buddy Walter in so much pain when we have to let a donkey go.

But we continue our work and we continue loving it. Let it be spring soon, with lots of fresh green grass for the donkeys!

A bientôt  Henri

Donkey in the spotlight: DALTON

Dalton is a castrated 18 year old donkey, who stands 120 cm high and is brown coloured. Dalton came to live at the donkey shelter in December 2010. He wasn’t doing that great at the time. He had been with three different owners in just the past six months and he really showed all the signs of a maltreated donkey.

In the beginning, Dalton was not only afraid of me, but also of the other

donkeys. He preferred a lonely spot at the far end of the stable, as far away as possible from anybody else.

His fur was completely entangled, but I couldn’t brush him because he associated this with violence and would start to go mad.

It has taken Dalton about a year and a half to reach a turning point. From that moment he started to trust me and I was able to be with him and touch him. But still he had a lot of sudden movements because

he was easily startled by something. Now, two and a half years later, he is even interested in the shelter’s visitors and let’s them pet him. Of course he loves the brush now, and his fur looks healthy and shiny again.

His only problem now is that he has a stomach/bowel condition which causes him to lie in pain on the ground some times.

All things considered, Dalton is a beautiful donkey with a special character, who would be very happy to know (if he could only understand) that his troubles are behind him.

 No trespassing…

The Aide Aux Anes donkey shelter is open for visitors all year round.

However, I would like you to make an appointment.

I am often away from home because the pastures with healthy donkeys are situated a bit further from the house and I have to work there, too. Also, I am sometimes away for other businesses.

When I am away from the main house and stables, the two main gates are closed. Two signs (in French and in Dutch) will tell you that trespassing is not allowed.

Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t obey this and trespass anyway. They are mostly Dutch... They open the gates, enter the terrain and even step into the closed stables.

But people must understand that I care for sick, blind and handicapped donkeys here. These unexpected visits do them no good!

You have to understand the outcome of these visits. When I arrive back at home, the animals are very stressed. Strangers who pet a blind donkey, either while being silent or while making a lot of noise, they don’t realise what they are doing to these animals!

So please, everybody, when the gates are closed, you are not allowed to enter without me! Never!

I am sorry to speak like this, but I have to stand up for my sick donkeys. Nobody steps into a house that is not yours when the owner isn’t at home, right?