| Corfu Donkey Rescue |
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Wed
9th December Well, so far the 25 donkeys have not left to go their new homes. BUT trust us, we are still working on it and with the help of our many friends and contacts, it may happen yet. Maybe not in time for Christmas but as a New Year present to them. After all it was a year ago come January 19th 2008 that they were first destined to depart. Quite a few new donkeys have arrived since the end of the season. Circa came into the shelter in October to have her teeth checked by Alec. She was very poorly so we told the owner and he was happy for us help her get better. She is now much improved but her twisted neck would make it impossible for her to work again. The owner has told us to keep her. Kroma and Xioni were given to us by the dealer. Kroma had appalling twisted hooves and Xioni was deemed too old to sell. They are both very sweet and contented little donkeys now. Lieke arrived at the end of October and was given to us by a friend of one of our members, Panayotis. The owner was adamant the donkey came to CDR and did not end up at the slaughter houses. Lieke is blind in one eye, has a twisted neck and very old, but she has a great appetite and strong will. After an escape attempt, we found her 2 km up the dirt track. She was then given her own private stable and has obviously now decided there was no place like CDR and only leaves her stable reluctantly in the morning if we insist. Dina came from Krini. She is almost blind and was being used to give donkey rides to tourists. She ended up back at the dealer’s yard. He was more than happy to sell her again as a working donkey. Fortunately an organisation heard about her plight and purchased her and then gave her to us. She is very pretty and is a great favourite with Julie who helps us here. She is rather too noisy for my liking. Why is it that the blind donkeys make the most noise? Panyotis often comes to visit us. In November on his way home he called me. He had found a donkey wondering free south of Kastallanoi. Enquiries revealed nothing, she was another ‘statisitic’ - thrown out. This new donkey called Anixi is very large. She has a respiratory problem which needs investigating. She has not responded to normal treatment. However she is eating well and seems quite bemused by all the activity going on around her. Tomorrow I collect one more from an elderly lady in Ermones, who has been waiting patiently for 6 months for me to take her donkey in. She also is concerned that her donkey doesn’t end up at the slaughter houses. It is so good to know that so many owners do care about their donkeys. They had no choice in the past but to send them to the dealers knowing where they would end up. 2 nights ago I was invited for a Name Day supper at a neighbours house and listened as the granddaughter told me the tale of their family donkey being sold when she was a child. Tears came to her eyes as she told me the family knew where the donkey would end up. But they had no choice. It
is thanks to your support of our charity that these stories will
become a thing of the past. In Corfu, the donkey owners do have
a choice now. Let’s hope, for their donkey’s sake, the
owners choose to make their old donkey, a gift to CDR.
5th November 2007 We have had so much rain in the last three weeks and that makes the work much harder. Just walking through the mud at the shelter is hard enough, walking while pushing wheelbarrows full of donkey poo or bales of hay is somewhat harder for the likes of me, who is aging fast. All my foreign volunteers have returned to home countries so us stalwarts who live here are all that remain. My thanks go to Susan and Colin and Cheryl, who helped me out in the summer and much to my surprise, are still turning up on their days, despite wind, rain and mud! Believe me, it is not easy here. A few hundred tons of concrete would help matters. Life was supposed to be easier with the departure of the 25 donkeys in the first week of October. This has not happened. Due to many problems too complicated to go into, the donkeys are still here and the last transport this year is 15th November. We are pulling everything out of the bag to ensure their departure, but success remains to be seen. The eviction on the other hand, leads me to good news. On the appointed date, 1st November, I was up at the shelter at the crack of dawn to feed the donkeys and tidy up before the promised demonstrations and arrival of the police. Nothing happened! Why, I am not sure. I believe that the media interest in our work and support shown by Mr Poulimenos the Governor of Corfu, may well have stalled the locals. We have made it clear that we are doing our best to find new premises and move. It is obvious we have outgrown the shelter and need more space. In fact, for the first time in over a year, the neighbours walked past the shelter and me and said a ‘Kalimera’ - good morning, only 2 days ago. Perhaps they have finally realised that I am not in business to make money fattening up donkeys to sell to the Italian meat market but am genuinely here to help the old, injured and abandoned donkeys on the Island. Whatever has made them more patient, I can only say ‘thank you’ and reiterate my promise – we will leave to pastures new as soon as we have suitable premises for the donkeys. What is new on the donkey front? Well, believing that 25 donkeys were leaving in October I took in more donkeys as and when the need arrived. Fortunately the ones that came in were not so sick but are old and had foot or limb problems that meant they were ‘worthless’, also 2 have come in that are severe sight problems bringing our total of blind or nearly blind donkeys to 5. We took our Bob to a celebration and release of wild birds in conjunction with EKPAZ (Hellenic Wildlife Centre based on Aegina, who rescue and rehabilitate injured birds and wildlife). Mr Poulemenos was present and the Mayor of Achilleon. 50 school children all wanted to sit on Bob and they did. Bob behaved perfectly. All the children were Greek and for some it was their first experience with wild animals and donkeys. I am delighted to report that I have never seen so many wild birds of prey in central Corfu as I have since the release in September. Yesterday a kestrel flew in to the shelter olive tree and took out a sparrow. It was horrible to see and hear but a delight to know the release was a success and the birds have not all been shot within weeks as the sceptics forecast At least they have a second chance. On World Animal Day in October we were asked by our vet Dino Burloyannis to take Bob to the Old Fort for the children to see. It was great publicity for the shelter and great news that the Greeks recognised this special day. Last week we were visited by 20 mature students from IEK school. The visit was part of their studies in biology and ecology of animals. They are all training to be forest rangers. They were very enthusiastic and surprised to see there were so many donkeys. Like so many locals on the island, nobody realised there was a problem with donkeys on Corfu. Before our existence, the old and injured donkeys were simply shipped to the slaughter houses in Italy. Nobody was aware of this. The students have to write a report and the best one is published – more great publicity for the shelter and the work we do. And the more awareness, the more help we can receive. That’s about it. In a few weeks I should have some good news about the new shelter. I make an apology here for any of you that have emailed or sponsored a donkey and are waiting for information etc. My secretary has been away for a month and will return at the end of November. I am doing my best to keep up with the admin but as I said, we are short staffed at the shelter so I am working a lot there as well. Julie will get us back on track as soon as she is home. Thanks
for your support October
10 2007 We have taken in many donkeys with various problems this year. Some serious, others just related to old age and neglect. We have had our successes and unfortunately we have had to let some go. But be assured all was done to that possibly could be, on this Island, and they had a peaceful and comfortable few weeks or months at the shelter, at the end of their lives. Last week, The Ezelsocieteit – see Link, organised a visit from Alex Chatwick and English dentist living in Holland. He gave his valuable time for free and the Ezelsocieteit covered all the expenses. So, the outcome was a hectic week but all the donkeys that will remain at the shelter this winter all have a ‘new set of teeth’. Alex was quite staggered by some of the problems – rocky mountains and sharks teeth, were just some of the comments made. But he handled everything with quiet professionalism and a super job was done. We also managed to fit in some outreach work on some working donkeys that had severe dental problems. We are sending 25 donkeys to shelters in Austria, Holland and UK on 27th October.. These are super places and the donkeys will receive the best of everything on arrival. Although I will miss the donkeys I am happy for them that they will have a good life. The bonus for us left in Corfu means we will have more room at the shelter to take on other needy cases. We have a waiting list! On
Saturday I went to collect a donkey that was in very poor condition.
The owner had brought 10 donkeys in the summer to use for children
to ride to make money. One donkey broke his leg and was put to sleep.
At the end of the season the donkeys were sent to their winter quarters
and there they have remained. Telephone calls from tourists and
local Greeks asked me to investigate. Their condition had deteriorated
very much since their sale in the summer. Only 2 donkeys were up
to weight. The remaining 7 were totally undernourished and one I
discovered was almost blind. When Alex the dentist was here, we
went and did the teeth of 7 of the donkeys. This would help them
to get the most nourishment from what little food there was. I spoke
to the owner about the worst case, not mentioning the others –
diplomacy is paramount – and asked if I could take her, as
she would surely die this winter. He agreed. So I went with Spiros
to collect her. We were not a moment too soon. She had fallen and
got her feet trapped, she could not get up. I managed to release
her and persuade her up and slowly she walked to the trailer. That
afternoon the heavens opened like it can only do in Corfu, and we
had the worst thunder storm this year. The donkey, now named Krini,
would certainly have died that night. However, she was tucked up
in a nice warm stable with plenty of food and hopefully she will
make a full recovery from her ordeal as a ‘working donkey’
aged 30! I will be watching out for the other donkeys. Tomorrow
the vet is coming to take samples of blood from the travelling donkeys
so we will be sure they are free from notifiable diseases and they
can get the all clear to travel. Hope
all this is of interest to you. If you want to know about particular
donkeys or any other topic of interest to you in the next weblogs,
email me. |
