all for the love of donkeys
THE FURRY BEASTS
Welcome to our world of donkeys -and one horse. We have the honour of spending our days and nights with these beautiful, strong, patient and kind "furry beasts". They have changed everything for us - in the best ways. On this page you can see their faces, read their stories, and get a glimpse into our world with them. Click on the button at the bottom of the page to see our upcoming donkey events.
CINNAMON​
Cinnamon was born on July 16th, 1997 and came to live with us in 2003. She was our first donkey. That innocent phone call one evening from Wally's chiropractor asking us if we wanted to take in a donkey to keep May, our horse, company, changed everything. She came from a family who was selling their large goat farm. They had met several interested people before us, but Cinnamon (then Rosie) chose us. We didn't know what we were doing, but we made a commitment to her and we have spent the many years since working hard to take good care of her -and the others who have followed. These big furry beasts have become our passion - our life's work beyond our classrooms. It's "all for the love of donkeys." And Cinnamon is where it all began.
NANA-APRIL​
Nana-April was born on April 18th, 2006 near Cambray and she came to live with us soon afterwards. She is a miniature donkey, as opposed to Milton who is a mammoth and the rest, standard donkeys. She is named after Pam's Nana-January who was born in Derry, N. Ireland in 1913. When we travelled to Ireland in 2004 in search of Nana's home, we also visited our first donkey sanctuary. Nana-April has the cross on her back like many of the donkeys we saw there, so she became our furry connection to Ireland. Nana-April has travelled once since her arrival at our home - to Schomberg to meet her namesake on Mother's Day in 2007. That was an adventure!
HUEY​
Huey was born on June 1st, 1997 and came to live with us in June 2008 with his partner, Kirby. They had been living at a menagerie of a farm near Trenton, Ontario which had become too much for the woman trying to care for them. Their previous owners took it upon themselves to transport Huey and Kirby away from that uncertainty to our home. Huey is a gentle donkey with great strength and determination. His trademark crooked legs are what he has always known. He is usually puzzled by the concern they seem to cause some of us two-leggeds.
IN MEMORY OF KIRBY​
Kirby was born on April 3rd, 1993 and came to live with us in June 2008 with her soulmate, Huey. They had been living at a menagerie of a farm near Trenton, Ontario which had become too much for the woman trying to care for them. Their previous owners took it upon themselves to transport Huey and Kirby away from that uncertainty to our home. Kirby is a spotted ass, has the loudest bray, and, it turns out, is the matriarch and leader of the herd. This became apparent that famous day in 2010 when the then four donkeys tiptoed their way through the barn, down the driveway, taking a hard left onto the road and another left at the stop sign. We learned that day that if we put a lead on Kirby and ask her to come with us, everyone else will follow.
Sadly, we lost Kirby in February of 2019. We miss her terribly.
MILTON​
Milton was born on July 18th, 1995, and came to live with us in 2014 with Jellybean, Sadie and Audrey. He is a mammoth donkey, so is rather daunting in his size, but when he came to us, he was scared of his own shadow. We don't know how this gentle giant became so afraid of us humans. He came to us to teach us about patience and trust and love. Thanks to our 'donkey angels' Kim and Chris, we have learned how to help Milton find his courage. We have spent hours with him, and we see the rewards of this every day. He'll snuggle into a hug now, and even let Wally pick up his hoof occasionally. The three of us are getting there, slowly but surely, together.
JELLYBEAN​
Jellybean was born on August 15th, 2002 and came to join us in 2014 with Milton, Sadie and Audrey. There was a 5th donkey on the farm where they came from - a fertile male named Andy. We weren't able to catch him, but he has left his mark as he is the father of Audrey with Sadie, and, it turns out, the father of Tingalayo with Jellybean. We knew there was a possibility that Jellybean was pregnant when she arrived, but in February of 2015, we were thinking that it wasn't true. As we moved along into March though, suspicion started to grow -as did Jellybean. On the day of April 26th, we moved her into a cushy stall in the barn, set up a baby monitor, and started watching Youtube videos showing donkeys giving birth. That very night, we were honoured to be a witness and support team for her as she quietly and perfectly brought Tingalayo into the world.
IN MEMORY OF SADIE​
Sadie is no longer with us but she was an important member of our furry family and we want to make sure she lives on here. She came to us with Milton, Jellybean, and her daughter Audrey. She had a lump on her nose and was missing a part of her ear - and she was bony. She had lived a life that we will never know. She wasn't super fond of humas. I wanted to teach Audrey how to walk on a lead so every weekend in the winter, she and I would head out, forging a trail in the deep snow. And Sadie would follow. She was an amazing mother, protective and kind. On Family Day in 2015, we came home to find her down on the ground inside one of the shelters. We tried as hard as we could to get her up. We wrapped her in blankets and sat with her in the freezing cold into the night, feeding her grain and telling her stories. The next day we met our new awesome vet, Dr. Cory Farrell. He shared with us that she wasn't 6 years old like we had been told, but more likely 22 years old, and that she had a congenital heart defect. It was amazing that she had survived giving birth to her little Audrey and had been able to care for her as long as she had. We said good bye to her that day. And then had to deal with the logistics of burying a donkey when the Earth is completely frozen. Wally lit a fire that burned for 24 hours to warm up the Earth enough to get a backhoe to be able to dig a hole. We then had a lovely ceremony, luring the rest of the furry beasts with food - we had bowls of grain and platters of carrots. We burned sage and said some lovely words. And we tried our best to help little Audrey through it all. If only donkeys could speak. Her bray that day was the saddest sound I have ever heard.
AUDREY​
Audrey was born to Sadie and Andy on April 4th, 2014, just before she came to live with us. She came with her Mom Sadie, who was a determined and strong mother for Audrey. Sadie found love when she arrived here and she knew that she and her baby would be well cared for for the rest of their lives. Sadie left us on February 16th in her 25th year due to a congenital heart defect. Audrey was quickly adopted by Milton and Jellybean, who had traveled with her to our home. Audrey is a kind donkey with a gentle and spirited heart. She looks just like her Mom, minus the scars Sadie had collected during her Earthwalk. She carries Sadie's strength with her and she is loved here.
TINGALAYO​
Tingalayo was born on April 26th, 2015 right here. When we rescued Jellybean and company in May of 2014, it turns out that she and Andy had had one final fling. Donkeys can live to 50 years old, and there are plenty of donkeys currently looking for people to give them a loving home, so we are not in the habit of nor in support of breeding donkeys. However, we are forever grateful for that night in April when we gathered with Jellybean to support her as she brought little Ting into the world. It changed us. Ting was standing up within a few minutes of being born and was shiny and perfect when we hurried out to the barn the next morning to pass out carrot cigars. Milton has taken on his rather complicated roll of grandfather and stepdad as Milton does everything -with huge grace. The name Tingalayo is from a West Indian folk song and was suggested by our Trini friend Simi.
BURRITO​
Burrito is a hinney - his Mom was a donkey and his Dad, a horse (a miniature horse). We were told that he was a mule (mother horse and father donkey), but his ears were too small, so after some research, we figured him to be a hinney.
and one horse MAY​
May was born on May 24th, 1995. She was here before any of this crazy donkey-rescuing began. As long as we understand that she is better than the donkeys, peace reigns across the land of Shelterwood. Horses, donkeys and zebras are the only species in the Genus Equus. They are very different from each other, both in personality and in requirements for care. May's exceptionally strong herd mentality has her rely on the donkeys for a feeling of connection and survival.