Rosie finds sanctuary among Devon herd

Fifteen-year-old Rosie lived with her donkey soulmate Jack in a loving home with their owners in North Wales. Sadly Jack, who was 17 years her senior, had to be put to sleep on veterinary advice in August of last year after he developed cancer.

Rosie’s owners Linda and Gwilym were well aware that she needed a friend and shouldn’t be on her own but felt that they were not able to take on another donkey, so they contacted us for help.

Donkeys are not suited to living alone and form strong friendship bonds for life. Even among a herd, donkeys will often pair with one or more donkey.

Upon visiting the home, Donkey Welfare Adviser Kia Thomas was introduced to Rosie and made her first assessment. As Rosie’s owners were not able to take on another donkey, they made the difficult decision to relinquish Rosie into our care, but they knew by doing so she would be guaranteed a safe home for life.

Kia said: “I visited Rosie over several months to assess her behaviour and provide some training and acclimatisation before she travelled to the sanctuary. It was also important to support her owners after making the tough choice that it was in Rosie’s best interest to be relinquished. 

“Rosie had previous bad experiences with travelling, so I had to ensure that she would be comfortable loading and travelling, as well as getting her used to being handled by different people.” 

During this time, Kia was supported by Kanya Prescott in our behaviour team, and she was able to send her videos of Rosie that she could view and provide advice on. The training paid dividends – when it came to the day of her move, Rosie calmly walked up the ramp of the transporter before heading to her new sanctuary life. 

On arrival our New Arrivals Unit in Sidmouth, Devon where all new donkeys spend several weeks before joining one of the sanctuary herds, Rosie wasted no time in showing interest in a larger group of donkeys living next door to her stable. 

Staff in the unit spent some time observing Rosie and decided that the time had come to introduce her to the group. 

Sara Blair-Salter, New Arrivals Manager, said: “It was clear to us that Rosie was keen to join the new group and by watching their behaviour they seemed naturally suited. 

“After we introduced her, they seemed to hit it off straight away, and Rosie fitted right in with her new mini herd of nine donkeys.” 

The group will soon move to their new home on one of our farms where they will be guaranteed a safe home for life either among the herds, or if suitable, on our Rehoming Scheme.