Ashley

About Ashley

Ashley is
Brave
Fun-loving
Playful

Birthday

20 October 2009

Best friend(s)

Zena

Colour

Grey

Ashley’s story

The first few moments of Ashley’s life were incredibly sad. His mother died when giving birth leaving poor Ashley behind. For the first few months of his life, staff and volunteers came to Ashley’s aid and bottle-fed him day and night. We knew from the very start that Ashley was a determined little soul.

You won’t find another donkey who loves life more. This energetic boy knows how to have fun. You will often find him playing with his best friends Mr Khan and Zena who have all grown up together at the sanctuary.

His big personality still shines bright, despite losing one of his eyes in early 2024. There really is no stopping him now as he enjoys his sanctuary life to the fullest.

Be a part of Ashley’s family by adopting him today or introduce him to a loved one as a unique gift.

ADOPT A DONKEY TODAY

Become part of our donkeys’ lives for just £3 a month. By adopting a donkey for yourself or a loved one, you will be guaranteeing their future with us where they will never want for warmth, care or food. Your adoption will be helping us to reach more donkeys and mules in need worldwide.

We aim to get your beautiful adoption pack or renewal pack to you within 14 days. Please be aware that we use Royal Mail to send these, and delivery is subject to any delays that they may be experiencing.

If you are adopting a donkey as a gift, please note the pack will arrive in The Donkey Sanctuary branded packaging.

Why adopt a donkey?

Your ongoing support will reach out to donkeys around the world. It will buy food and medicine, pay for vets and farriers, and build shelters and hospitals. And, most importantly of all, it rescues helpless donkeys from hopeless situations.

Adopt a donkey for yourself today or share the joy by giving the gift of a donkey adoption to a loved one. By adopting a donkey you are doing something amazing.

What’s included?

Find your perfect match today and you or your loved one will receive a beautiful adoption pack.

Adoption pack includes:

Two gorgeous portraits of your donkey and their story
A display frame for your portraits
Four beautiful postcards to share
Your adoption certificate
Your keepsake membership card
A guide to getting the most from your adoption
Two updates on your donkey in spring and autumn.

Adoption frequently asked questions

We always try to get your beautiful adoption pack or renewal pack delivered in the UK within 14 days. Deliveries to overseas addresses may take longer. Please be aware that we use the Royal Mail service, and delivery timescales are subject to any delays that they may be experiencing. In the meantime, you can download your printable adoption certificate from your confirmation email.
Yes, if your adoption donkey lives at our Sidmouth sanctuary you can visit. The sanctuary is open to the public seven days a week from 9am – 4pm.
If you adopt one of our Belfast donkeys you will be able to visit them again soon when our Belfast centre reopens. Please keep an eye on our ‘Belfast - Visit Us’ page on the website for re-opening updates.
Please note that we do not bring adoption donkey over to adopters individually as we respect their freedom of choice to move around their paddocks. If your adoption donkey is not in view, often they will appear as they move within their environment if you wait patiently. We thank you for your understanding that, with animals who have freedom of choice, not every donkey will be in view all the time.
Your adoption pack will contain two beautiful portraits of your brand new friend, four postcards, a certificate and a membership card.
If you choose to take the adoption pack away with you on the day, it will be exactly the same as those ordered online, however we will be unable to personalise your certificate. If this is an issue, our shops can arrange for your personalised pack to be sent through the post
It costs just £3 a month or £36 for the year to adopt a donkey. The average cost of keeping a donkey is now a staggering £2,000 a year. Your money will be used to help with feed, bedding and medical bills among the many other costs of providing a safe home for our donkeys.
If you adopted online, you should have received an email confirming payment. Do get in touch if you have any issues – you can complete our online contact form or call our team on 01395 573133 between 8:30am and 4:30pm on weekdays.
Due to the nature of our adoption scheme, it’s important to allow multiple people to adopt each donkey. The scheme is a vital way of raising funds to support the donkeys in our care, as well as our work and projects worldwide. Restricting adoptions to one adopter per donkey would vastly affect the amount of money we could raise through the scheme, and would also weaken the experience of those who have chosen to adopt.
Yes. We welcome adopters from all over the world to our wonderful adoption family. If you adopt, your adoption pack will be sent directly to your address, but please be aware that delivery may take longer than our standard 14 days, and some EU countries may charge an additional import tax.
Yes. If adopting from a foreign bank account, the equivalent adoption fee will be taken at current exchange rates. However, please note that you can only adopt by Direct Debit from a UK bank account.
Yes. You will have the option to buy as a gift when you adopt . Just follow the instructions once you add your donkey to the basket, and we’ll make sure you receive the adoption pack ready to wrap. All future correspondence will then be sent to the adopter’s address.
There are eight webcams available to watch across our main sanctuary in Sidmouth, Devon. You might be able to spot Drizzle in Shelter 1, Cocoa and Walter in Shelter 2, Ashley, Zena and Cleo in Shelter 4 and Percy in Shelter 6.