Today is out last full day in Portugal and the golfers last day on the course. I made my usual daily morning trip to visit the donkey. I’ll admit that I am quite worried about him. Since I found him grazing on Monday I bought him some carrots as a healthier option to the polos I had bought that he was not at all impressed with! Every day I have been to find him, he has been locked away in a stable (he was only out on Monday). I have asked on a number of occasions if he can come out but the lady on reception explained that as he is young he is a bit of a liability with people as he is not very tame so he is stabled instead. This is clearly ‘Catch 22’ as he will never become more socialised if he is not with people.
The stable has an outer locked door so I cannot get in. Each morning I visit and have a chat with him and then manage to throw a few carrots into his stable and listen carefully because when he has found them I can hear him crunching. This afternoon with Colin’s help I managed to climb over the high locked gate using two chairs to get into see him. He was very pleased and enjoyed the carrots, I took some photos on my phone as it has a flash so although I could not see the conditions at the time, it is clear he has not been cleaned out for a long time although he does have a fresh water supply. I’m going to try and do something about this on my return home.
In the meantime, as I thought a mucky stable would not be a great shot for the day, this is Chaves (again!) which I visited this morning and a view of the town to show just how quiet it is on a weekday around lunch time!
A beautiful shot and a fav. My heart aches for that poor donkey; he is obviously being neglected to the point of what I would call abuse. Bless you, Emma, for paying attention and taking him carrots. I hope you can do something after you get home. I don't know if Portugal has an equivalent to the RSPCA. You might be interested in this site: http://www.heyportugal.com/life/pets-animals/1607-reporting-animal-abuse-in-portugal
@tristansmum Sorry for my usual lack of comments but I thought I'd let you know what I am doing re. the donkey. A bit of research shows that he is a particular type specific to this area hence he is rather larger and looks a little like a mule (I'll email you some photos separately). I have pics of him when he was out grazing and although he looked a bit on the thin side and clearly had matted fur (looks like his winter coat has not been brushed out), he was not too bad. The stable was another case though and not a pretty site. We have an excellent donkey sanctuary in the UK in Sidmouth, Devon and through them I have discovered that they have a donkey rescue centre within about 50 miles of Vidago. Not only do they take on neglected, old or abused donkeys, they also provide valuable advice on the care for them. I am going to write to the hotel directly telling them what I have seen and suggesting that they get in touch with this organisation. If I hear nothing I will also get in touch directly with the sanctuary in Portugal and provide the pics I have taken. The grounds of the hotel are open to the public during the day so it would not be difficult at all to find him (with my directions) to check up on his condition. I think he was probably bought as a cute foal (is that the name for a baby donkey as well?) but they obviously need some sort of training to socialise them with people. Now he looks pretty full grown, he is bigger than the usual grey donkeys with the cross on their back. He is very good natured but over excited (probably through lack of any form of attention) so he could easily knock a child over or accidentally kick someone. However, there is no reason why he could not be grazing in a field and there are a lot of them there. I am determined to help him and as the hotel has a good reputation I am sure they would prefer to deal with this than have any negative publicity!
@emmadurnford Emma, I'm so glad you are doing all this, I know you care about animals. I hope you're successful in bringing about a positive change in this donkey's life. You may not know, btw, that I am finishing my 365 Project at the end of May. I decided to do this because I simply cannot keep up with the commenting any longer (I may still drop on occasionally). The commenting was taking many hours, and I want to use some of that time to try to improve my processing skills, which are fairly rudimentary. I have Photoshop CC but I know I haven't even scratched the surface of what it can do. Anyway, I'll send you a private email soon. Love to you and Colin and Brockley.
@tristansmum I will be very sorry not to see your photos any more but I totally understand how much time it takes to comment which is why I do not do much. Good luck for the future and do keep in touch with emails. One of the best things about the 365 Project is making friends and I am so pleased that we actually met up. Who knows, we may visit Toronto again in the future and equally you may come to the UK one day. Keep in touch.
As an aside, to let you know about the donkey, I contacted the hotel and they agree that he is not kept well. However they are building a properly secure fence as apparently he is naughty and manages to escape from normal fields! They are also getting him a keeper. She invites me to visit again in the future to see him (although this is a bit unlikely). What I thought I'd do is email details to the donkey place nearby and ask them to go an check up on him in a few weeks to check the work is done.
I look forward to exchanging emails and keeping in touch, Love Emma X
June 19th, 2016
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As an aside, to let you know about the donkey, I contacted the hotel and they agree that he is not kept well. However they are building a properly secure fence as apparently he is naughty and manages to escape from normal fields! They are also getting him a keeper. She invites me to visit again in the future to see him (although this is a bit unlikely). What I thought I'd do is email details to the donkey place nearby and ask them to go an check up on him in a few weeks to check the work is done.
I look forward to exchanging emails and keeping in touch, Love Emma X