happy donkey story :)

[joosie]

This morning we went to pick up a baby donkey and transport him to his new home. The woman that wanted him had two donks who had been together for 15 years, two weeks ago the older one died and the other one, Jorge, had been miserable ever since We were very lucky to find out about this baby donkey whose impoverished owner was desperate to sell him so he could afford to feed the mother, who still works on his smallholding and is essential for his own survival. So he gets a much-needed 600 euros and Jorge gets a new friend :D

So we went to pick up Little Donkey, his owner met us on the main road on his crumbling scooter and we didn't think we'd ever make it as far as his farm! The baby hasn't been handled at all and was very reluctant to leave his mum, even though he hasn't been suckling from here for weeks, and she was being very protective, so you can imagine how long it took us to get close enough to get a headcollar on him! There wasn't anywhere enclosed to round him into and the old boy insisted that my boss and I didn't get too close because apparently women have a funny smell and we were scaring it :rolleyes: Needless to say it was eventually us that caught him :cool:

He was reluctant to go on the trailer and mum screamed at him but once inside with a pile of hay he was quiet as a mouse! It was an hour's trip to his new home and not a kick or cry to be heard. I hadn't seen the place he was going to but it is just lovely - well-off woman with Jorge donkey and two spoilt horses, four grassy paddocks (real grass is very uncommon in the Algarve in the summer because it's so dry) each with a tree for shade and bordering the river with a eucalyptus grove. Little guy didn't know what hit him :D We put him straight out with Jorge who was absolutely delighted to have a new friend and they had a few nuzzles and bum-sniffs and then bombed off around the paddock :D

Oh it was so lovely, Jorge has a friend again and little Joey (named within 2 minutes of arrival) has really landed on his feet :D

[Scoobydoo]

Pics Pics Pics pleaseeeeeeee

[denisextilly]

Aaaaaah bless,and yes PICS :D:rolleyes::o:p

[Mimi + Me]

and the old boy insisted that my boss and I didn't get too close because apparently women have a funny smell and we were scaring it :rolleyes: Needless to say it was eventually us that caught him :cool:


Is he serious ......... :eek::eek::eek:!!

Glad little Joey let you catch him in spite of your 'funny smell' and it sounds like he's got a lovely life ahead of him :)

[bitsnpieces]

Sounds like Joey likes the lady smell!!!! lol - I wonder if he was referring to soap? hehe

that is just the cutest story - I LOVE DONKEYS!!!! ....pics please!

[diplomaticandtactful]

happy for Jorge, sad for the mother donkey who will be distraught.

[joosie]

It had to happen some time, he couldn't be with mum forever, and he's not been suckling for some weeks so he's not going to miss her milk. Once the baby was on the trailer she didn't make a peep, just went back to her goaty friends!

[fairlady]

Aw, lucky Joey.:)

[pauline w]

I'm glad mom and baby are both happy and that Joey has a good home. I have five donkeys, All wonderful characters.

[EnduranceAli]

What a lovely story. Lucky you living in the Algarve :)

Ali xx

[diplomaticandtactful]

glad little baby donkey has truly landed on his four hooves and has a better future mapped out for him, being pampered and spoiled rotton, sad for the mum left behind in poverty with her owner.

sad that the owner is in such difficulties.

[joosie]

What a lovely story. Lucky you living in the Algarve :)

glad little baby donkey has truly landed on his four hooves and has a better future mapped out for him, being pampered and spoiled rotton, sad for the mum left behind in poverty with her owner.

sad that the owner is in such difficulties.

Living over here is great but I have really had to toughen up with regards to poorly-treated horses. The Algarve is a poor area for the Portuguese people who live here (and many of the Brits too) and there is a much lower standard of equine care than I'm used to. It is very hot and dry here in the summer and the grazing is very poor because it's so dry, yet it's very common to see horses tethered on the scrubland with no shelter and no supplementary food, and usually with no company either. Malnourishment, bad feet, untreated sores and so on are sadly extremely commonplace here.

I'm sure some of it is cruelty, but the majority of it seems to be ignorance, judging on the people I have encountered. They simply don't realise that their horse needs shelter, or that it's too skinny, or that it's feet are desperately overgrown. There is nothing like the RSPCA or Blue Cross over here, no real monitoring of horse welfare, no official body to which to report neglect or abuse. I know about 20 British people here who own horses they have rescued themselves, without the help of any kind of organisation - we have a pony here who my boss rescued last year. On one of our local hacks we ride past a dealer's yard, where there are usually about ten extremely underweight horses tied to trees in front of his barn, often covered in sores and plagued by flies. There is nobody to whom he can be reported.

It's very sad, but the harsh truth is that there are thousands more horses suffering than we want to think. Being over here I've been exposed to a lot of it, and it isn't getting any easier to stomach. Happy stories like our little pony and the baby donkey are great because you can see there is hope for these neglected equines, but they also make it sadder, becaue you know you can't save them all.

[diplomaticandtactful]

i know what you mean, I went on riding holidays in Andalucia years ago and I was appalled at the callous cruelty to the horses. The Portugese seemed more fond of their animals just poorer.

You really do wonder where all the EC farming money went to.....after all there was plenty of it.

[joosie]

A large amount of it was apparently mis-spent - I read that the EC are reclaiming agricultural funds from a number of countries because the money wasn't spent in compliance of their regulations and conditions. Portugal is one of them.
It's sad for the people too. As the Brits, Germans, Dutch and Spanish slowly take over the Algarve, the Portuguese here who rely on agriculture, are getting poorer... some of them move further north into the Alantejo, where the land is more fertile, but many can't even afford to leave. You go into a well-known tourist town like Praia de Luz or Albufeira, and the incomers are getting richer and richer, yet within minutes of leaving you see clear signs of poverty amongst the natives.

[diplomaticandtactful]

been there, beautiful scenery but you can't eat it.