Given that this is the time of year when the deadlines start piling up and we all turn into twitching balls of stress, a bit of animal therapy never goes unappreciated. Coming from a family where pets outnumbered people, I definitely find that I miss the comfort of having an animal to cuddle (and the campus cats around here only put up with so much).
When I saw that the FXU Flicka Volunteering Project were running a trip to The Donkey Sanctuary in Sidmouth I genuinely jumped across my room to get onto my laptop so I could book a space. It was totally worth almost spraining my ankle.
The Donkey Sanctuary has several farms across the country but their sanctuary in Sidmouth is the only one open to the public. They also do some really great work overseas, helping people understand how best to care for the animals that are so crucial to their livelihoods.
Spoiler alert: I think donkeys are just awesome. They smell of hay and happiness. They stand dozing in the sunlight and there are always seveal willing to trot over to the fence for a scratch. There’s something about their sleepy eyes that is just so calming. They also had adorable names like “Fudge” and “Gwennie” which just makes them even better. I love them so much I accidentally adopted a donkey called Ruby when I was there.
I also spent most of the day wondering whether I could fit any of the smaller ones into my rucksack.
I found it so heartwarming to see all of the donkeys living so peacefully, especially considering some of the information given about their sad backgrounds. I also loved the dedication the Sanctuary had for making sure people overseas knew how to take care of the animals they work with. Whilst it was a bit of drive (almost two hours) I think it was totally worth it – I could just feel that deadline stress floating away. There isn’t really anything not to like – I can’t recommend it more!