Adopt a donkey

You can adopt any or all of the donkeys shown for only €24 per donkey per year.

Once we have received your payment you will receive a picture certificate of your chosen donkey (or donkeys!). Also, we will add you to our mailing list so you can receive our newsletters.

If you have an email address, we can send your certificate in PDF which will not only enable you to receive your certificate more quickly, but also save us money on postage, stationery and ink as well as helping the environment. By choosing to use email correspondence you will also receive four eNewsletters per year instead of the usual two paper copies

An adoption makes a great gift too and if it is for a special day, let us know the date and we do our utmost to make sure you receive it in time to give to the person you have bought it for. Every Adoption not only goes towards caring for your chosen donkey but also helps us care for their friends and other donkeys on the island.

If you would like to have a photograph of your chosen donkey (or donkeys), please contact us. We have larger photographs, bookmarks and calendars available to purchase.

Chloe

We collected Chloe in May 2007 from a small village in the Troodos Mountains after a villager had contacted us when he had heard that Chloe's elderly owner was going to poison her.

Chloe was only 3 years old at the time and the owner had found her too young and boisterous to handle and work. She had a very eventful journey back to the Sanctuary as one of the wheels seized coming down the steep road.

She soon befriended one of our grooms who took care of her while she was in the isolation unit and was very upset when he was off work for a few weeks!

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Helena

The majority of the donkeys we take into care are very elderly and when we discovered her mum, Eftyhia, was pregnant we were very excited about the arrival of our first foal. When the carers arrived for work that morning, you can imagine their surprise to find a small, almost black bundle standing on slightly wobbly legs in the corner of the stable peeping out from behind her mum! She soon learned to trust us and lift her hooves up, wear a head collar and go for walks. Sadly, when she was almost six months old, we had to say goodbye to her mother who had health problems that could not be treated. It was heart-breaking for little Helena and for us too although another donkey, George, took her under his wing and made sure she felt safe. Helena now lives with a wonderful group of donkeys who often seem surprised by her energy and antics!

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Hercules

Hercules came to the Sanctuary in 2001 as a 3 month old foal. His mother had died and he had been hand-reared and rather spoilt.

He didn't understand that he was a donkey and the people caring for him were humans - he thought it was great fun to climb all over people and generally do what he liked.

Over the years Hercules has gradually learned to live with other donkeys and his behaviour has improved although he can still be a very naughty donkey! One of Hercules' specialities is being able to open most bolts he even managed to open some 'donkeyproof' bolts we got from the UK!

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Kikas (Kee-kas)

Born in January 2015, when he was weaned from his mother, tiny little Kikas was unwanted and had nowhere to go. His owner owed the farrier some money for trimming his other donkey’s hooves and gave Kikas to the farrier as payment! Unfortunately, the farrier didn’t have time to look after little Kikas and was unable to find a good home for him and so Kikas came to us. Poor little chap was very bewildered when he arrived but has grown into a wonderful donkey who is always up to mischief!

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Moses

Moses came to us as a 5 year old stallion in 2012. His owner’s loved him but found Moses difficult to handle. Wanting to ensure Moses had a good home for life, his owners asked us to take him.

To say he was difficult was an understatement but after eventually managing to castrate him, he began to calm down. The other donkeys in the group have taught him some manners and although he can still be a handful for the grooms, he gets better each day.

Always up to mischief and wanting to play, we can’t help but love him.

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Pip Squeak

Pip Squeak arrived here at the Sanctuary in November 2017 when he was just 11 months old. A donkey owner who had his own herd of donkeys inherited Pip Squeak when his previous owners moved away and left him.

He had been separated from his mother at three months old - far too early - and although his new owner had done his best to look after Pip Squeak, it was clear that something was not right. Among the herd of lively young donkeys, Pip Squeak was tiny, extremely thin and stood out like a sore thumb.

Our first challenge to bring Pip Squeak back to good health was to look after his immediate needs – food, water and shelter were not a problem, but keeping him warm during the middle of winter turned out to be harder than anticipated. As he was so small, the donkey rugs we had swamped his tiny body so a special order was placed to the UK, and within just days the perfect rugs for Pip Squeak arrived.

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