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Newsletter
4
September 2006 |
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The
summer holidays are over. The Donkey Sanctuary has received many visitors
these past two months: many tourists, but also locals. Visiting the
donkeys is a nice outing for young and old, of course. We are happy with
so much attention, and you won’t hear the donkeys complain either: the
more visitors, the more apples and carrots. And if you look closely, you
can see the difference in the bodies of a few of our friends...
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Despite
all the sweets (because carrots are sweets to donkeys), fresh hay is
still an all-time favorite. Every morning the inhabitants of the
sanctuary are waiting patiently in front of the container until one
of the volunteers comes out with a barrel full of hay.
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But
not all donkeys are patient... When no one was looking, Ban Ban
succumbed to temptation and he decided to get his feed from the
container himself.
Ban
Ban is one of the few donkeys who does not mind carrying children on
his (ample) back. Could that be the reason that he thinks he has
earned a bit extra?
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Our shop
More
and more merchandise is gracing our shop. New toy donkeys to cuddle
(in all shapes, sizes and with varied price-tags), but also new
jewelry, pens, toys, books and very pretty new paintings; too much
to mention. Everything has a donkey theme, of course.
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New
Christmas cards are available. Totally
different from last year’s and just as nice. They can be bought in
packets of six different cards.
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Evan
ready to go out in the group |
Newcomers
The
newcomers of the past few months are Spot, a lovely tough guy, and
Evan, a muscled donkey with a very sweet disposition. Spot has been
added to the herd already. |
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10th
anniversary
In
April 2007 the Fundacion Salba Nos Burico will celebrate its 10th
anniversary. What started out as the care of 13 donkeys that crossed the
road at Pos Chiquito, has grown to a foundation that takes care of 61
donkeys. Thirty-five volunteers are helping us.
This
tenth anniversary of the sanctuary is something not to be sneezed at. We
are looking to borrow
photos, movies, but also saddles and such to organize an exposition
about the Aruban donkey and its history. |
No more
However
hard we try, some donkeys cannot be saved.
Yuwana
was picked up in San Nicolas mid-June. Because the poor thing could not
stay upright anymore, our vice-president took her home. Yuwana could be
kept alive for only three days, though.
Luna
was also taken home by a good soul. Straight after her birth, Luna’s
mother disappeared. She did not even have a chance to drink a sip of
mother’s milk, but clever as she was, she quickly got the hang of
drinking from a bottle. Sadly enough, Luna stopped drinking after a few
hours and she died quite suddenly.
Early
in August people found a tiny little donkey of just one month old in Cas
Ariba. It was taken to the vet right away: she was suffering from severe
dehydration. Even a drip could not help her survive. Even though we could
only love her for a very short while, she did get a name: Bonita.
The upkeep of the sanctuary
In
our previous newsletter, we told you about the escape of a few donkeys.
Repairs of the fences were most urgent, and at this time we are replacing
the worst parts.
The
fences of the corals have been replaced. This time we used iron tubing,
because the wooden fences were eaten by the donkeys (!).
Our
porch has been enlarged and now offers the visitors and school kids more
space. The water supply system has been dug and rerouted so that the
chance for aquatic mishaps has greatly been reduced.
Animal
Day
Sunday,
October 8, the Donkey Sanctuary celebrates Animal Day. There are snacks,
drinks, games, riding a donkey for the kids and much more. So come on down
between 10 am and 3 pm to the sanctuary at St. Lucia for lots of fun and
animal love.
Please
note:
To
save money and time, we would prefer to send you our newsletters by e-mail
instead of by regular mail in the future. So please send us your e-mail
address if you are interested in receiving our news by e-mail. Our address
is jenny@arubandonkey.org.
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Newsletter
3
May 2006 |
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We have had a few quiet months behind us, but
there is always news about the donkeys in the Sanctuary, so here goes.
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Walkathon |
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Last
month, on April 8, 2006, our first fundraising walkathon took place. About
150 enthusiastic people showed up, most of them wearing their new
tee-shirts with the text `Ami ta core pa Fundacion Salba Nos Burico.’
This means: I walk for the Donkey Sanctuary. |
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Participants
walked a distance of about 6 kilometres. Winner of the walkathon was
11-year old Mark van den Broek. His father came in second and Quiana
Cronie went over the finish line in third place. Congratulations to
the winners!
The
fact that Sombrero and Mon Petit (two of our donkeys) walked along
in the walkathon, was really special. The two finished in a dismal
time, however. Although the route was a breeze for them, they
decided to take things very, very easy. This made life for their two
handlers a lot more difficult!
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Sombrero with his buddies
during Water break during the walkathon |
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All
participants, some sweatier than others, finished the walkathon.
Water, soft drinks, oranges and watermelon revived everyone
afterwards. We hope you will join us next time as well.
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Newcomers
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This
time there is only one newcomer in the sanctuary: a gorgeous, young
guy. Q.T. had hung around the sanctuary for months already before he
got what he wanted: inside. He had already picked fights with
Chocolat, the leader, and with Meteoor across the wall before his
arrival in the sanctuary. We therefore think that he is the one who
caused the damage to it. |
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All
his efforts to get inside were not in vain: we left the gates open
for Q.T. This was on April 19. It took more than an hour and a half
to get the donkey inside the coral, by the way. It was Kromoor who
showed Q.T. the way...
Q.T.
has to get accustomed to life in a group and to the sanctuary, so he
is in a separate coral for the time being
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QT new in
the sanctuary |
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Passed away
In
our last newsletter we informed you about our `problem child’ Bally. In
the short period of time that Bally was with us, we had done our utmost
for him. However, Bally’s condition badly deteriorated. Added to this
was the fact that he got many incurable wounds from lying down too much.
It was a hard decision, but we agreed that it would be better to spare him
any more suffering; we have put Bally down. |
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Gelding
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Early
February it was time for Picasso to be gelded. Was it coincidence that all
the donkeys started braying loudly when our vice-president was on the
phone with the vet to arrange the operation? Was it a protest?We
can understand the donkeys being not supportive of our decision, but it is
necessary to have our animals undergo this operation to prevent
inbreeding. |
| A
week after his operation, Picasso was allowed to join the group for
the first time. He was really dominant and chased Chocolat around.
Until this day, Picasso’s place in the group has not been decided
as yet: there are fights on a regular basis. That is how Picasso got
a big wound on his side, and because of this he had to be separated
from the group once again. |
Blackie and Rason playing |
Blackie
underwent gelding in February as well. Although his leg was still
very weak, we did not want him to live apart from the rest any
longer. We decided to take the risk, and it was a good choice. From
the first moment that he left the coral, life became a party for
him. The group took Blackie in and he found a good friend in Rason.
Blackie’s leg is okay.
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| Activities |
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| Our
foundation was represented on two annual happenings on the island.
At the end of April there was Santa Rosa’s `Dia di Tera’ and on
May 1st, Labour Day, the Open House of the Marines in
Savaneta. Donkeys Sombrero, Banban and Maud went along to Savaneta.
Sombrero is still too small to have kids on his back, but Ban Ban
has gladly walked round after round.
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| Finally |
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Our
little one, Negrita, will be one year old on May 29. Her small head
and big ears betray that she is still very young, but from a
distance you can hardly see any difference with our other black
donkey, Blackie. Time flies!
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When
part of the wall surrounding the sanctuary had fallen down, a number of
donkeys saw their chance and they went for a walk outside. But life inside
the sanctuary definitely has its advantages, so the group was back home
again in a jiffy. Only one donkey did not return: Kromoor.
Kromoor
strayed for a fortnight. And would you believe, his adoptive parents Pat
and Art, who have supported him for three years now, came to see him when
he was nowhere to be found... Kromoor was finally discovered on the
property of our president (!); he came back to us just in time to see his
adoptive parents, by the way. |
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NEWSLETTER
2
Januari
2006 |
| Dear
contributors, adoptive parents everyone who has a warm place in their
hearts for Aruba’s donkeys,
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| We
wish to start this newsletter by expressing our thanks for the support you
have shown the donkeys of the Donkey Sanctuary Aruba. We hope that our
charges may count on you once again this year.
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| Then
an apology: our intention to send you a newsletter every few months, has
remained an intention. Because of changes in the board, we have not been
able to keep you informed about the sanctuary. Our priority lies with the
donkeys, and plans to write a regular newsletter to keep you up to date,
have taken a back step.
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At
this time, however, the board is working in full capacity once again. We
have very enthusiastic members, who deem it important to keep you up to
date, because only with your valued support we can help and save Aruba’s
donkeys.
A
MOVE |
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November
2005 the number of donkeys at the St. Lucia sanctuary had grown to 41.
That proved to be a bit too much of a good thing. Not only for the donkeys
themselves, but also for our volunteers and visitors. Fortunately, we also
have a second sanctuary (Bringamosa), which is twice as large as St.
Lucia. After the fences were fixed, nine St. Lucia donkeys found new
friends at Bringamosa.
One
of the donkeys that came to live at Bringamosa, is Tica. She is so fond of
food, that she moves heaven and earth to be able to go into the container
for an extra portion of hay. But Tica also takes great pleasure in
escaping the sanctuary, looking for food. The only way to get her inside
again, is... with food! Without Tica at St. Lucia, things are a lot more
relaxed, but the volunteers have to admit that they miss her crazy
excapades.
The
following donkeys have moved to Bringamosa as well: Jake, Esmeralda,
Tutu, Ginger, Gingerson George, Bastiaan,
Tio Mexico and Scar.
Bringamosa
is not open to the public. This does not mean that you cannot visit your
adoptive donkey anymore: just let us know when you wish to come to
Bringamosa.
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| NEWCOMERS |
| Black
donkey Blackie broke his leg last year on February 26. He spent two
months in the (airconditioned) animal hospital, before he could be
admitted to the Donkey Sanctuary in April. The windless coral was a
huge change for Blacky, who still lives separated from the other
donkeys to let his leg heal perfectly. Not for long, though. Blackie
himself can’t wait; he wants to join the fun.
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Blackie in the hospital |
| Another
black donkey: Negrita. Negrita was born in the sanctuary on May 29,
2005. Her first 6 months she spent together with mom Een Oog in a
separate coral, but she is old and strong enough by now to join the
group. Negrita is a beauty, and all visitors are crazy about her. If
you have not made her acquaintance yet, please come by soon. |
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Picasso
was brought in, skin and bones. He has gained quite a few pounds
since then, but he is still not strong enough to hold his own in the
group. He is covered with scars, the poor thing. We take extra care
of him and he knows that. |
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Esmeralda.
She has come to us from the rehab clinic, where she could not be
kept any longer. Esmeralda
was really skinny when she came to us.
One
day we were missing two donkeys, so we put all the donkeys of the
sanctuary into the big coral at feeding time, so that we could leave
all the gates open for the runaways. At that moment, Rason sauntered
inside, and because of the bad condition of his ears, he was allowed
to stay with us. It appeared that we just had not counted right, by
the way, and all donkeys were
accounted for!
Meteoor
jumped the stone fence twice, without touching even one of the
stones. He did that to
get to the ladies, as you may have guessed. Meteoor thanks
his name to a famous jumper.
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Esmeralda
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Rason |
| One
of our volunteers opened the door of her house, and there was
Sweetie. As he is easy to handle,
we assume that he was raised by people. |
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Balance
(Bally)
Sombrero
was just two or three days old when he was found. His mother was
nowhere to be seen.
Moreover, he had a cactus needle in one of his eyes, which nobody
has been able to remove.
Fortunately, he does not seem to mind the needle at all. Because
Sombrero proved to be allergic for soja milk, he was raised on Ensure and Pediasure:
very expensive and most of the time sponsored by: Medicosmet from
Dakota (Aruba). |
We
received more than 50 telephone calls about Bally (short for
Balance). This donkey did not let anyone catch him, even though he
suffered from a broken hip. Nowadays, he is safely
ensconced in the sanctuary. Clever as he is, he puts his
short hind leg on top of a stone, so that
he is standing in total balance. As he sometimes cannot get
up from the pain, we treat him to
painkillers and treacle sandwiches. We shall take good care
of Bally as long as he can enjoy his
fresh hay, sandwiches and cookies.
Sombrero 3 days old |
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PASSED
AWAY |
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Plato
was a donkey with a huge infection on his chest and many old
injuries. We tried everything, greatly supported by Plato’s
terrific adoptive parents, but nothing could save Plato. He died in
January 2005 after a 6-month struggle. |
| In
November 2005 we received a sick donkey from the Alto Vista area.
Motina was easily caught and the vet took a good look at her right
away. Motina was in a truly bad way and medical treatment proved no
use. Motina lived with us for just three days before she died at the
sanctuary.
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Tico
has left us too. This donkey had been maltreated by people who
dragged him behind a car to see who was faster: the donkey or the
car. Even though his past was traumatic, Tico never lost his trust
in humans. That this sweet, dear animal had to die of tenanus, hit
all the volunteers especially hard.
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Tico in the middle of his
life! |
| NEWSFLASHES
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At
this moment we take care of a total of 61 donkeys!
In
May, the sanctuary was called by the police: three donkeys had been
spotted in Oranjestad. They were easily caught and taken to the
sanctuary. The next day, the owner came to get them.
There
are people who do not value the work of our foundation. In December
we were visited twice by burglars, who caused a lot of damage.
The
donkeys of the sanctuary have not been vaccinated. The reason for
this is that it is very expensive.
However, the death of donkey Tico of tetanus has made us realize
that vaccination is really
important. This year every donkey will be getting a tetanus shot.
We
are really glad for the donkeys that have found an adoptive parent.
But not all donkeys have been
adopted. This year our goal is to find parents for each and every
donkey in the sanctuary. With
your help, we will undoubtedly succeed!
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| Newsletter
number one of the Fundacion Salba Nos Burico. June 2004.
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| Dear adoptive
parents, contributors and other interested parties,
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Before you lies
the first newsletter of the Fundacion Salba Nos Burico. We are planning to
keep all contributors of our foundation informed about everything under
the sun concerning the donkeys and our activities in three newsletters per
year. You don’t need to be an adoptive parent or benefactor to get the
letter: Let us know that your are interested and we shall send you our
regular updates. We wish you lots of reading pleasure. |
Open to the public
The donkey
habitat at Santa Lucia, where the majority of our donkeys live, is open
to the public on a regular basis, thanks to new volunteers. The sanctuary
now welcomes visitors seven days a week (Monday till Friday 9 am till
12.30 pm and Saturday and Sunday 10 am till 3 pm). They can see how we
groom, feed and clean and, if so desired, the visitors may participate.
The Santa Lucia inhabitants are very curious by nature, so they gratefully
accept any kind of attention, especially when there is a carrot, apple or
kind word attached.
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Private persons
may adopt a donkey for AFL. 25,– a month; companies pay AFL. 100,–.
Adoption is per full year. This financial support allows us to buy food
and medication and maintain the upkeep of the property. We post a photo of
the adoptive parents and their donkey-child on our website and the parents
receive an adoption certificate. |
| Donkeys Sonic,
Don Juan, Jolly Jumper and Eva have been adopted as the first few in the
adoption program. Since the program started in October 2003 it’s been
going very well. Thirty-nine of fifty-three donkeys have been adopted by
now. The success of the program has even resulted in co-adoption. Some
donkeys seem to have so much appeal that more than one person wishes to
adopt him. The underlying thought is that a donkey’s upkeep costs around
AFL. 100,– a month; the AFL. 25,– we receive for every adopted donkey
is therefore not enough. Co-adoption is solving our financial problem. It
isn’t easy to continue running a foundation which is not financially
assisted by the government.
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| Meanwhile Pica
and Jolly Jumper are now co-adopted. Jolly Jumper and Boem Boem have been
adopted by schoolkids, who held bake-sales and organized fundraising
activities to be able to pay for the adoption. Maybe this is a great idea
for other schools as well... |
Pica
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| New
inhabitants at Santa Lucia |
| A few new donkeys have come to live at Santa
Lucia since October 2003: Sonic was terrorising the horses at the Desert
Rose riding school and could not stay there. He came to live with us, but
that resulted in huge fights with Chippie, the leader of the pack.
Nowadays Sonic knows his place. Pica, with his lopsided ear and three
broken legs, is also happy at Santa Lucia. The animal managed to survive
marginally on his own, but he likes our regular feeding times a whole lot
better. Poor Kodak is doing well too, but he had a terrible time when he
was suffering from screw worm. Part of his hind leg had been eaten away. |
| Tio Mexico has
had a stroke; his ‘laughing face’, which is normally the showing of
teeth to be better able to smell, is not functioning as it should and
therefore it looks as if he’s laughing at you. Tio is very curious by
nature, but one should take extra care when approaching him, as he has
become blind in one eye.
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| Chocolat got so
enthusiastic when he saw gorgeous ‘ladies’ across the fence that
he took the plunge and jumped..... Of course he can stay among the ladies,
but first he has to undergo a certain procedure. You have to wait a while,
Chocolat!
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Santa
Lucia, Bringamosa and Seroe Alejandro
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| At this point in time we have 53 donkeys in our
care. 33 are at Santa Lucia and 13 are living on a private property in
Bringamosa. One volunteer takes care of seven animals in her huge back
garden at Seroe Alejandro. Now the board of the foundation has to make the
difficult choice of deciding who is going to make the move from Santa
Lucia to Bringamosa. We have to make this choice with the health of the
donkeys in mind: it is easier to prevent certain illnesses which donkeys
frequently suffer from, when there is a balance. |
Sadness
and joy
Around
Halloween in November 2003 we picked up two deathly ill donkeys from the
street: they had been poisoned. But our aid came too late. Mother and
daughter had to be put to sleep by the vet who is always ready to help us.
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Tinkerbell
was born at Bringamosa. Everyone was so happy, as baby donkeys are the
sweetest things. But Tinkerbell died after a week. Maybe she couldn’t
drink well, maybe mom Lucky’s milk was not right... we don’t know why.
We were as devastated as Lucky was.
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| But there is
also more cheerful news: donkey Maud, mom of Kleintje, Juanito and
Twinkle, is taking good care of her little Baccha, who is growing up fast.
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Plans
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| We have
requested electricity for a fan and refrigerator in the store room. This
coincides with the plans we have to build a small bar in the store room
for visitors, who would like to have a cold drink in a cool environment
after their hot, dusty tour. Tables, chairs and a refrigerator have been
donated, but still there is no electricity. We would like to open a small
store next to the bar to sell our assortment of donkey stuff without
having dust everywhere. We have new kids tee-shirts, mugs, posters, mouse
pads, donkey toys and postcards. Even the donkey poop, very good for
your garden, is for sale and is selling well.
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| We are also
planning to make a Tica-lock chamber. This is a new word, especially
thought up for Tica, the cleverest of the pack. She pushes away visitors
at the gate so she can escape. Tica even knows how to open the gate with
her nose and other bolts are no problem at all for her. Who says that
donkeys are stupid?
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| New
volunteers |
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The container,
the store room, the feeding troughs and the fences were in need of a lick
of paint. Donkeys Tica and her inseparable Juanito volunteered as our new
assistants. Well, in their donkey way, of course.
Till next
time!
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Juanito and his girl friend Tica! |
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