Tiffany and Noelie left this week for their new home in Westport, Co Mayo. There was a lot of work involved in getting these two ready for foster. First they had to be medically fit to make sure they were in tip top shape for their journey. Then our grooms and quality time volunteers worked tirelessly on them to make sure they would be social and easy to handle for their new fosterers - last minute checks are always taken to make sure all is well.

There was also a lot of work done by the potential foster owners, the criteria is very high for foster homes, this is done for the welfare of the donkey but may result in considerable expense for the home. To foster two of our donkeys you would need to have at least one acre of land adjacent to your house and good shelter with hard standing. You will also receive a one day’s course on the care of the donkey. The foster home is responsible for the full cost of caring for the donkey, feed, veterinary, farriery costs, annual inoculations and regular deworming and lice treatment. However they always remain the property of The Donkey Sanctuary and if for any reason you can no longer care for the donkeys in the future they will return to The Donkey Sanctuary.

It can take as long as a year to get a pair of donkeys, the reason for this is that we do not always have donkeys fit enough for foster, as a large percentage of our donkeys come from very bad conditions. It can take quite a while to bring them back to good health, however we do get some very fit young donkeys and from these, depending on their temperament, donkeys are chosen for foster.

It was always known that Tiffany and Noelie would benefit from foster care, as they were in foster previously and benefited greatly from it. Their new owners have promised to keep us updated on their progress and our welfare officer in the area will be keeping in close contact with the home and offering help and advice where necessary. Here’s wishing these guys a very happy new life.