Donkey retreat hope dashed by rejection
Last updated at 10:26, Friday, 13 November 2009
AN ANIMAL lover from Allendale has been left flabbergasted after her attempt to foster two donkeys failed.
The offer of help from Eileen Finn, who lives at Thornley House just outside the village, was turned down by The Donkey Sanctuary charity on the grounds of unsuitability.
But Mrs Finn cannot understand the rejection after she offered her time, land and money to care for the animals.
She said: “I adore animals and would love two donkeys in my field.
“They cost around £700 each per year to maintain and I was willing to pay that and to build them a shelter in my field.”
Mrs Finn received a site visit from a repre-sentative of The Donkey Sanctuary, which assessed the suitability of the land and the site for donkeys.
She was then invited to attend a course in Scotland on donkey handling and care.
Mrs Finn said: “The course was about how to muck them out, groom them and handle them.
“I took the course but there was an exam at the end of it that nobody had told me about. I sat it but I would have read up the literature beforehand had I known.”
A letter was later sent out informing her she had not been successful in her request to foster two donkeys from the sanctuary.
Mrs Finn said: “They said they did not feel I could handle wild donkeys, and most of the animals they have are not very gentle at first.
“But I have had wild cats before and they become like babies after a while.”
Mrs Finn feels the charity is, in effect, denying two donkeys a good home.
“I want to give two donkeys, who have had a hard life, a lovely re-tirement and I am very fit and able to look after them.”
Mrs Finn lives alone and runs a bed and breakfast business at her home. She explained that she had a woman who helps her in the house and a gardener.
“They are both willing to help with the donkeys and take the test if needed,” she said.
“My property is an animal friendly place and I have a ‘Pets Welcome’ sign outside from the tourist board.”
The proud owner of several Maine Coon long-haired cats, Mrs Finn added: “Anyone just has to look at my cats to see how well groomed they are.
“I would lavish the same attention on the donkeys. They would be the most pampered donkeys in Northumberland.”
Head of welfare at The Donkey Sanctuary, Martin Taggart, said: “We cannot comment on individual applications, but I would say that both the welfare of the animal and the safety of the person caring for it need to be safeguarded.
“We carry out an assessment of each applicant and often the handling tells us more than the written test. The donkeys’ reactions can also tell us quite a lot, but it isn’t an exact science.”
Mr Taggart, who wrote the rejection letter to Mrs Finn, added: “We are delighted when anyone expresses an interest in fostering a donkey, and we are very grateful that Mrs Finn wants to support us. But sometimes we have to turn people down, which is never nice.”
Mrs Finn is now appealing for anyone in the area with a donkey or retired horse needing a good home, to get in touch with her to arrange a possible fostering scheme. She can be contacted on (01434) 683225.
First published at 09:52, Friday, 13 November 2009
Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk
