Donkey Love

Saturday was my birthday and the only thing I asked for was a trip to Longhopes Donkey Shelter, about 1 1/2 hours from us.   Since Neal is a sucker for all things animal, he gladly obliged my wish.  When we arrived, these two pregnant ladies were the first we saw.  They were getting in a good scratch on the deck railings and lattice work.

We then stepped into one of the corrals where we found Kathy Dean, the founder and CEO of Longhopes.  She and one of the volunteers, Karen, graciously welcomed us and began telling us a bit about the donkeys and their histories.  I was in heaven the minute I stepped through that gate.

There were donkeys everywhere.  They currently have 39 residents and every single one is well-loved and well cared for.  Some of them were former family pets, some were livestock guardians no longer needed, and many had been saved at the eleventh hour from the meat auction block.  You can see in their eyes just how grateful they are to be at Longhopes.

There were a couple of yearlings in the bunch.  This one, named Angel, really took a liking to Neal.  She was so fuzzy-looking and reminded me of an alpaca.

 Look at that wooly head!

 
Some of the most recent additions were rescued from a meat auction and they were pretty wary of humans.  Neal and I worked our magic on these two, named Spirit and Ghost, and were able to get in a few pets.  One of them even drooled while I petted him!

And this little guy is Nestle.  He was having the best time dust-bathing and snoozing in the sun.

Just look at that adorable face!

 Hector was an owner-surrender.  He used to guard sheep and when the owner sold all of his sheep due to the economy, Hector lost his job.  The owner had reported that Hector was wild and could not be handled.  He suggested to Kathy that he should be sedated to load in the trailer.  However, when Kathy arrived to pick up Hector, he voluntarily jumped up in the trailer and said, "let's go!".  He looks really wild and unruly, doesn't he?

Everywhere we went, a donkey or two was sure to follow.

Karen taught us how to give a donkey ear massage...

which produces an extreme sense of relaxation resulting in the donkey pouty lip...

In addition to donkeys, there were cats and dogs, so I was really in my element.  One of the barn cats, Kiki, was not at all afraid of the donkeys and would strut in and out of the corrals.  This picture is for Linda at The 7MSN Ranch

We had a great time at Longhopes Sanctuary and it was so hard to leave without any donkeys, but Kathy assured me when the time was right she would help us pick out the perfect companions for our little ranch.  In the meantime, I did leave with lots of literature and a book that should keep me occupied for a while.

And that, my friends, is how a wanna-be country girl spends her birthday!