News and Articles

The beautiful Doris and handsome Mickey would love to thank you all for your amazing and very generous donations towards their vet bills and to cover costs of the much loved but lost companions, Harold and Pele. Both Doris and Mickey are doing well, enjoying life again and the Trust is able to breath a sigh of relief. Thank you never seems enough, but please be sure we really appreciate your support to help us continue to rescue and rehabilitate our beloved long-earred companions. Now we are working hard on building up our reserves again! Thank you everyone! ... See MoreSee Less

You may remember Clark and Gable who were rehomed over a year ago. Here they are under the trees sheltering from the rain keeping a close eye on their flock who also don't like the rain! ... See MoreSee Less

When it rains....it pours! Not only do we have huge vet bills for beautiful Doris (who is doing well) and the late Harold, but we have just received an additional five figure bill for Mickey and Pele, who both contracted the virus. Sadly Mickey is now without his best mate, Pele, who succumbed to the virus. These two boys were treated at the home of their amazing Trustee guardian, as the trip to Massey would have been too much for them. Mickey has recovered is doing well and is now back with the herd. However, our bank balance has not recovered, and will not recover for a long time. We are looking at vet bills in excess of $20,000 for this viral attack! Thanks to our amazing supporters, we are almost half way there. We still need your help. The Trust is entirely funded by our amazing supporters and rarely do we find ourselves with this level of expense, so again we are asking for donkey lovers to dig deep in memory of Harold and Pele. We can issue receipts for donations over $5.00 for tax purposes. Can you forego a cup of coffee this week to help the Trust? We want to continue to be able to continue to do what we do, and we will, but we do need your help. Head to our webpage and click on the donation button and remember, it's all about the donkeys!
donkeymuletrust.org.nz/ ... See MoreSee Less

We have GOOD news...Doris is now eating on her own and off molasses and bute (and her carer no longer has to dodge hooves!) Doris is now able to join the other donkeys but is being introduced slowly so as to not overwhelm her. She has her new trusty "sidekick", Artemis, to keep her company. Mickey has joined the "boys". It's been two weeks since he lost his much loved buddy, Pele and showed any signs of the virus. He is enjoying a tiny bit of long grass.

The Trust is so grateful to all those who have dug deep, and I mean REALLY deep. With your amazing support we have taken care of over half our almost $14000 vet bill! We can't say thank you enough. We are totally reliant on the generosity of our supporters and support us you have. We still have a long way to go and more vet bills to come (for Pele and Mickey). If you can spare that odd cup of coffee again this week, we would be so thankful. We still have a long way to go financially to meet our debt. ... See MoreSee Less

Doris wants to say a huge thank you to our dedicated and generous supporters! We are stunned by the generousity and help we have received - just over $6000 so far which is almost half of our current vet bills (with more to come) for Doris and Harold. Doris stopped eating again when she came home from Massey, she was pining and looking for her mate, Harold. Artemis was put with Doris (she had already had the virus and recovered) and has never shown signs of laminitis so could happily graze with Doris and keep her company. Doris is still being given molasses daily (which she hates) but this is being reduced as she begins to eat more herself. The molasses helps keep the hypolipidemia at bay.

We are so thankful for the help with these vet bills. There are still large bills to come in for Pele (who also sadly succumbed to the virus) and Mickey, so if you can contribute the Trust would be incredibly grateful. I know if Doris could talk (or type) she'd want to say a huge thankyou too but for now she will share her latest portraits with her new pal, Artemis (that's her in the background....Artemis tends to love the camera!) ... See MoreSee Less

Sometimes life throws you are curveball and the Trust is no exception. The last couple of weeks have been horrific for the Trust, and one of our carers in particular. We lost a donkey this week and are absolutely devastated. Doris and Harold were quite new to the Trust and contracted a virus which caused hypolipidemia. Their carer rushed them up to Massey University for intensive care but sadly Harold deteriorated rapidly and the vet team could not reverse the damage done and he lost his battle. Doris spent several days in intensive care and is still not out of the woods but is back home without her mate. As you can imagine our vet bills for these two are immense. We need your help. If you can dig down behind your sofa cushions or under your car seat, or give up a coffee or two this week, in memory of Harold and to help Doris, we would really appreciate it! Donations can be made through our website.
donkeymuletrust.org.nz/ ... See MoreSee Less

We haven't posted in a while so here are some photos just to remind you we are still here and loving our donkeys. ... See MoreSee Less

Weather may be appalling, but our hay order has arrived ... See MoreSee Less