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Longhopes Donkey shelter gives second chances

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Contributed by: Laura Mayo/ YourHub.com on 6/1/2007

In August 1999, Kathy Dean quit her job as a lawyer and started saving donkeys.

Troubled by the practice of unwanted donkeys being shipped off to slaughterhouses,she and her husband bought 20 acres of land in Bennett to serve as a sanctuary called the Longhopes Donkey Shelter.

The first donkey to make his way to the no-kill, nonprofit shelter was Rocky, a 42-year-old jack whose owner could no longer keep him. Five months later, nine more entered the sanctuary, according to www.Longhopes.org.

Fast-forward seven years and the shelter has rescued almost 300 donkeys and adopted out more than 250, according to Dean.

Most people don't realize the need for donkey shelters, said Pam Moser, who sits on the board of directors for Longhopes.

Moser said her donkey, Miss Bliss, had a motherthat came into the shelter malnourished and pregnant. People often leave their donkeys out in the pasture and don't notice when they become skinny.

Donkeys also come into the shelter with long hooves that eventually cause legs problems.

"A large part of the neglect is hoof repair," Trisha Stone said, a volunteer at the shelter.

Donkey owners have to make sure to work with their animals so they become used to people touching and picking up their hooves, said Stone. Not doing this results in a stubborn donkey.

A third problem is owners often not castrating their jacks, leading to unwanted foals and an overpopulation of donkeys, Stone said.

Dean believes donkeys are often looked at as a second-class horse. They are bought cheaply to keep horses company.

But Stone said there are major differences between donkeys and horses.

"(Donkeys) are more like giant dogs than a horse and not near as flighty," Stone said.

Donkeys are not a prey animal like horses but more like a predator, she said.

"That's why they're used as guard animals."

The process
Dean doesn't adopt out donkeys to just anyone. There is a process.

First after visiting the shelter, prospective donkey adopters talk with Dean, who asks questions to see if there is a good fit, Moser said.

Some of the questions include if the individual iswilling to adopt two donkeys.

"Donkeys like to be with their own. That's why we adopt them as a pair," said Stone.

"When a donkey gets with another donkey, they blossom," Moser said.

Another important question is if the prospective adopter has enough land to house a donkey. One acre per donkey is the minimum at Longhopes, Moser said.

After, the prospective adopter passes the questions, Longhopes usually sends someone to do a home inspection to make sure there is good water, shelter and fence.

"We want to make sure the donkeys are going to the right place," Moser said.

Once they pass the inspection, the donkeys are ready to go. But the process doesn't stop there.

Longhopes does checkups for the first year to make sure it's a proper fit. According to Moser, if there isn't a fit, "it isn't always a reflection on the owner." Sometimes it just doesn't work, she said.

The Experience of a lifetime
Moser said her life has been changed since volunteering at the shelter.

Moser found herself at her dentist office looking at a magazine with an article in it about a rare breed of donkeys.

"I just fell in love with it," she said. She went home and told her neighbor who informed her about Longhopes.

"While there, I fell in love with the curious and intelligent animals." Now she said she is content "just picking up donkey poop."

Once at Longhopes, there is a sense of warmth in the air, standing in the pin with 20 or so donkeys that swarm aroundsomeone like he or she is a new discovery. Each donkey has a unique personality and a sensibility about them.

According to Moser, there is always a donkey that will find a human and decide that they should be friends.

At the shelter, the donkeys walk along with their favorite person, nuzzling and leaning against that person's body.

It would seem that those who have visited the shelter experience what unconditional love and trust means.

How you can support Longhopes:

Become a volunteer.

Sponsor a donkey for $30 a month.

Provide guardianship for a permanent residence for $30 a month.

Donate to Longhopes Donkey Shelter.

Visit Longhopes.org or call 303-644-5930 for more information.

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