Blue Ball Inn, Sidford, DevonDonkey Sanctuary
The Blue Ball Inn is only 4 miles from the Donkey Sanctuary, making it the ideal base for a visit to the Sanctuary. Barely a day goes by without a visitor to the Sanctuary staying with us.
The start
It was not until she was helping her husband to run the Salston Hotel at Ottery St Mary in Devon that Dr Elisabeth Svendsen MBE, who founded The Donkey Sanctuary, was able to own her first donkey.
Naughty Face joined the family in 1969, quickly followed by a donkey named Angelina. Becoming more and more interested in donkeys, Dr Svendsen joined the Donkey Breed Society and became their Area Representative. Visiting the Exeter Market one day she saw seven poor little donkeys crammed in a small pen. She tried to buy the donkey in the worst condition but without success, and from that moment on, she decided that instead of breeding donkeys she would try and save them.
The donkey family grew and grew, and in 1973 The Donkey Sanctuary was registered as a charity. Dr Svendsen had 38 donkeys under her care when, in June of that year, she received a phone call from the Executor of the Estate of the late Miss Violet Philpin, who had cared for donkeys at her Helping Hand Animal Welfare League Donkey Sanctuary near Reading in Berkshire. The solicitor explained that Dr Svendsen had been left a legacy - of 204 donkeys!
The two charities merged, and from then on the lives of the Svendsen family changed completely!
Slade House Farm was purchased to house the fast growing donkey family and over the years more and more donkeys have been taken into care. To date over 14,500 have passed through the Donkey Sanctuary's gates in the UK and Ireland.
Helping donkeys worldwide
Millions of the world's poorest people rely on donkeys to keep them supplied with the basic necessities of life and enable them to earn enough money to support their families. Donkeys are hardy creatures and well-adapted to life in hot climates and inhospitable environments, but in many ways their toughness works against them.
Because donkeys have such a high pain threshold and such a stoical nature, many owners fail to notice when they are sick or injured, and keep them working when they need treatment and rest.
The Donkey Sanctuary Overseas Department has been working to help these loyal, long-suffering animals for 33 years. They have bases and major programmes in India, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya and Mexico and have supported projects in many other countries, particularly through a small grants programme.