All about Zena

If you are local to H&H HQ, you may already be aware of the great work that The Donkey Sanctuary does for these friendly animals. Having started off as a dream to help save donkeys in distress this charity near Sidmouth, Devon, now has multiple centres across the UK, and works globally to help thousands of donkeys. 

Meet the delightful Zena!

As with many animal charities, a large amount of their funding is obtained through adoptions and sponsorships and our publisher, Jude, has has adopted Zena, a wonderfully sweet donkey at the Sidmouth sanctuary. Zena's start in life was tough; born three weeks early, she suffered from paralysis in her back legs. However, after a lot of veterinary care, love and late-night bottle-feeds, she overcame the odds and is now full of life!

Donkeys are intelligent creatures, and like to take their time getting used to new things. Having only ever known love and kindness from those who care for her at the sanctuary, Zena trusts humans, and new experiences don't frighten her. One of the many things that the sanctuary likes to do is to keep donkeys challenged and engaged, just as they would be in the wild. Introducing Zena to an obstacle course for the first time, she demonstrated her usual courage and intelligence. After a brief hesitation, she stepped directly over the raised pole, one leg at a time, with a little hop to finish off!

Zena taking on the obstacle course 

"It's important that she doesn't become bored by doing the same things every day. That's why we constantly try to come up with new activities to enrich the lives of our donkeys. We also encourage different volunteers and grooms to help take care of Zena and her friends. It's good for the donkeys to get used to small differences in approach and handling." – Rosie, one of the grooms at the Donkey Sanctuary.

All donations received go towards a wide variety of projects, from buying new equipment to helping care for the donkeys, to funding Donkey-Assisted Therapy programmes across the UK and Europe. The Donkey Sanctuary has just opened a new veterinary hospital at Brookfield Farm in Devon, thanks to the help of all those generous enough to donate to this heart-warming charity.

To see how you can help support the incredible work that The Donkey Sanctuary carries out, be sure to visit the website; we're sure you won't be able to resist adopting a donkey!