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UPDATE - sponsors have been found. Thanks so much to Belinda C for her increased sponsorship of the Not-So-Famous-Five, and to Nadia Mason for sponsoring Jasmine. Your support is so very appreciated.

Help - we need sponsors!

Are you able to help with sponsoring a donkey, or five! We currently have Jasmine needing $25 a month in sponsorship, and the little herd of 5 needing another $50 a month.

We know that $50 a month is a lot of money, so if you are able to contribute $20 a month, we would love to hear from you.

What does your money go towards? Sponsorship covers the day to day care - feed, farrier, worming. The routine things. It enables the human that is looking after the donkey to do the best job possible without having to worry about funding their care. Sponsors are the backbone of the work we do.

What do you get in return? Visiting and cuddle rights, advanced notice of things happening with "your" donkey, photos, little stories about their antics.

Here's a bit more about them:
Jasmine lives in Rotorua, after her owners had to sell and move. Jasmine came to us with her friend Angel, but sadly Angel had health complications and passed away. Jasmine started to limp, and after x-rays, it was found her pedal bone had rotated meaning she has a history of laminitis, and she has some arthritis. This means she will need careful diet management for the rest of her life, and pain management. Therefore she will remain with Pauline in Rorotura for the rest of her days. Jasmine has now bonded with Duchess Florence, and the two old girls are the best of friends. Jasmine already has one sponsor who contributes $25 a month, but due to her special diet, we need to increase this up to a total of $50 a month.

There are a number of posts below about the Not-So-Famous-Five that are residing in Masterton. They were surrendered to us recently. There are 3 jennys (2 are pregnant, and we await the results for the other jenny), and 2 jack foals. Five (soon to be 7 or 8) is a lot of mouths to feed, feet to trim, worms to control. They are currently sponsored, as a group, to $150 a month. But we really need to get this up to $200 a month if possible.

If you are interested in sponsoring, or have any questions, please either PM or send an email to Rebecca at publicityofficer@donkeymuletrust.org.nz ... See MoreSee Less

One of our wonderful sponsors visiting her sponsor donkey Nibby today. ... See MoreSee Less

I want to acknowledge our sponsors today. These caring and generous people regularly donate towards a specific donkey's care and expenses.

The donkeys are either with us for a long time - they might be pregnant or injured, or they are with us forever - they might have been ill-treated and cannot safely be rehomed, or are elderly.

Most donkeys receive sponsorship of $50 a month, sometimes spread over several sponsors. Although a couple of donkeys receive a bit more for special feed and medical costs.

The money is used on that donkey's feed, farrier, worming, and teeth care. Any other vet bills are covered by donations made to the Trust, calendar sales and other fundraising.

Without our sponsors, the future for these lovely donkeys would not be quite as rosy. Of course, we would still help them, but we might not be able to do it to the same degree. You take the financial burden off their carers and allow them to do all that needs doing for the donkey to be safe, healthy and happy.

We thank you 🌻🌺 Below are the happy faces of some of our sponsored donkeys. ... See MoreSee Less

UPDATE - a huge thank you to Flo's existing sponsor who has generously increased her sponsorship to cover Flo's fine dining.
We really appreciate all your support B.

Duchess Florence needs your help. Flo cannot eat hay. She quids it, which means she is at risk of choke. Her teeth have been checked and are fine now, but she still quids. This means that she is on hard feed all year round.
Duchess Flo has one sponsor already, and this money covers all her other expenses. However, it doesn't cover Flo's hard feed.
We are looking for sponsorship of $40 a month. This would take a huge financial burden off Pauline, allowing her to take on more donkeys in need.
In return for your sponsorship, you will get a certificate of sponsorship, quarterly updates and photos about Flo, and you will have an open invitation to visit Flo.
If you are able to help, please send me a private message. Thank you. ... See MoreSee Less

Poppa and Bear had their first trim. Poppa showed Bear how to be brave. Bear kicked (a lot) but Bruce the donkey whispering farrier with endless patience worked his magic. ... See MoreSee Less

Update on the boys:

We still haven’t picked names 🤷‍♀️. We just can’t decide, there were so many great suggestions. Right now we are trying out Poppa and Sonny Jim.

They have had a big few weeks. They have been gelded. They coped very well. But they both now have a bit of infection. So the vet has been back, cleaned the wounds, and put them on antibiotics. They got a tetanus vaccine at the time of gelding too, with a booster shot due soon.

The bill for these boys is around $1500 already with more to come. If you are able to help us with is, please donate at donkeymuletrust.org.nz/donations/

100% of all donations go on the donkeys’ care. After it, it’s all about the donkeys 💕 ... See MoreSee Less

Names Needed

These two handsome chappies were recently surrendered to the Trust. They were up for sale on Trademe as entire Jacks. We contacted the owner to express our concerns, as Jacks can be dangerous. The owner assured us her boys were lovely (and she was right!) but decided it was probably best that they went to experienced humans.

So we have collected them, and assessed them, and will be following their journey as they settle into their new lives.

They are father and son. Dad is the black one, and he's 15 years old. Son is the dark brown one, slightly shorter, and he is 12 years old. They are energetic and inquisitive, and have shown very little Jack behaviour so far. They also have the loudest brays we have ever heard!!

The first thing we need to do is name them! We have a few suggestions already from the Trustee's which I'll put in the comments box. Please share your name suggestions with us below.

And keep an eye on this page to see updates on their progress. ... See MoreSee Less

What a difference a few months of TLC make. The top photo is of Prince in December 2020 when he was first collected. The next photo is of Prince now. He has been wormed, feed, and loved. Now that he is healthy, he will soon be gelded and have his teeth done. It's hard to believe this is the same donkey. Thanks Pauline for doing what you do, and doing it so well 💕 ... See MoreSee Less