norman
country-financial
March 29, 2024 3:46 am
Your hometown Newspaper since 1987.
Search
Close this search box.

Christmas Time At The Donkey Rescue

By BOBBIE GREEN

The Progress

Carson Copeskey, 2, found a friendly holiday donkey character at the Pleasant Valley Donkey Rescue fundraiser last weekend. PHOTO BY BOBBIE GREEN/The Progress

It was Christmas time in Donkey land on Saturday, Dec. 11 at the Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue facility in Scenic, Arizona. The decorations were hung with care, with hope that St Nicholas would soon be there. The Donkeys were braying and the people were saying “What great fun to be here.”

The crisp cool air on Saturday morning created a great setting for participating in this holiday fundraiser event, and maybe even visit with Santa Claus.

Rescue operations manager, Joan Dunkle, reported that this was by far the best year ever in terms of donations, and getting new volunteers. They had over three hundred visitors that day.

Volunteer Sharon Hern was there to greet visitors and answer questions. She moved to the area two years ago and read online about this rescue facility in Scenic, which takes in donkeys from Death Valley. She said that she came out to see the facility and immediately fell in love. “I love all these donkeys,” Hern said. “I know them all by name.”

The True Family, a family of four adults, were eating hot dogs and discussing how impressed they were with this event and the facilities. They all planned to join the group and become volunteers

Kids in attendance loved petting the donkeys. But the opportunity to visit Santa and a donkey at the same time was truly special.
Each child was given carrots to feed to the donkey that was with Santa. Parents were able to take a photo.

Kylee and Kara Lynn Dancer visit with Santa and “Cookie” the donkey at the Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue Holiday Fundraiser held on Saturday. PHOTO BY BOBBIE GREEN/The Progress

Little two-year-old Carson Copeskey even found himself a friendly six-foot tall volunteer donkey mascot character to interact with.

The Christmas Event is the only time the gates are open for visitors to wander the whole facility. The donkeys are trained at the facility, with the goal of getting them adopted by loving families. But they may also be fostered here also.

Fostering a donkey is $30.00 a month. The animal stays at the complex, but foster parents get to come visit and play with him. Donkeys get to know their foster parents and welcome their visits.

The facility is a permanent home to unadoptable donkeys, usually ones that are born disfigured, or crippled. There are 250 donkeys in the complex at this time.

Going out to see the donkeys one learns many fascinating facts about them that are not commonly known. For example, donkeys are social animals. They like company of either equines or humans.
Did you know a donkey can kick backwards, forwards and sideways?

This was a chance for the public to get up close with the donkeys. Each pen had a volunteer supervising the donkeys to help the visitors enjoy their visit and keep both donkey and visitor safe.
Dunkle was pleased with the success of this year’s Donkey Christmas Fundraiser.

“We sold almost all of our inventory of donkey accessories, all of our donation jars were full, and many gave me cheques and volunteered their time,” she said. “We even had a donkey adoption today.”

Dunkel was full of gratitude to the community who made the event successful.
“I want to thank everyone who helped us put on the event and who donated,” she said. “Our next “Donkey Jamboree” will be held sometime in March.”

Peaceful Valley’s mission is to provide a safe and loving environment to all donkeys that have been abused, neglected or abandoned and wild burros under threat of destruction. It is part of a nationwide network of ranches dedicated to this mission. The organization’s headquarters is located in Texas. The Scenic Arizona facility is one of the oldest in the network.

For more information on Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue, call 928-347-4506 or email, azsc@pvdr.org .

Print This Article:

Share This Article:

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Screen Shot 2023-02-05 at 10.55.46 PM
2-21-2024-fullpagefair
4 Youth Service WEB
2-28-2024 WEB Hole Foods St Patricks
No data was found
2023 WEB BANNER 2 DEFAULT AD whitneyswater
Mesquite Works Web Ad 10-2020
Scroll to Top
Receive the latest news

Subscribe To Our Weekly Newsletter

Get notified about new articles