Just when I was starting wonder if we'd ever find the place, the PrimRose Donkey Sanctuary in Roseneath, Ontario loomed in front of us, just off County Road 9. The drive from Tweed, where we'd spent most of the long weekend with dear friends, was a long and winding one, comprising eccentric properties and one-of-a-kind bucolic landscapes and a pass through the charming waterside town of Hastings.
Our santuary tour began in the large barn, where several of the resident barn cats laid about in cat beds, on top of bales of hay, or peeking out from their man made cubby holes. Justin, the sanctuary boxer cross, pranced behind us and Sheila, the sanctuary owner and founder. Sheila introduced us to two boarding pot belly bigs, a mischevious goat named Vanna, and some of the older donkeys who were confined to the barn for heath and security reasons. Then it was out into the paddocks to meet and befriend more donkeys. They come to you when you call them.....or at least most of them do. Some, who have obviously lived though lives of abuse and neglect, aren't so willing to take a chance being close to yet another strange human.
But one grey and white fella took a real liking to Bob, and started following him everywhere, eventually deciding to try and keep him from walking away by tugging gently on his shirt with his big white donkey teeth. All of them love having their great big ears rubbed and scratched, and when they see one donkey gettin' some love, many surround you in hopes of getting a turn.
There are young ones, adolescent ones, mature ones and a few who are more than 40 years old, which is quite elderly for a donkey. Their stories are heartbreaking but Sheila rambles them off and as she does, you realize that she is truly a human angel with a place reserved in heaven.
Behind the paddocks in the grassy fields, donkeys of all shapes, sizes and colours run, play and whinny with abandon. Justin never leaves us, perhaps wanting to make sure that we don't go anywhere we're not supposed to. A sweet little volunteer named Jamie greets us at the gate where the newest arrivals and youngest babies are, herself chock full of knowledge and stories that leave me on the verge of tears. The things some human beings do to helpless, innocent animals is beyond description. As much as I encourage you to visit http://primrosedonkeysanctuary.webs.com, I warn you...some of the stories are graphic and disturbing.
The sanctuary relies on donations. Veterinary care, feeding and sometimes even purchasing an animal at auction to ensure its future comfort, safety and wellbeing all cost money. After reading the stories and facts on the website and anticipating our visit, I brought a wallet full of cash with me.
Before I left, I was wishing I had brought twice of three times as much. It was my first donation, but it most certainly will not be my last.
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