He has one heck of a history! As a strapping 7-month old youngster, he was hit by a car at Alto Vista. The volunteers went to help right away when they got the call and, together with the vet, they put his broken front leg in a plaster cast and took him to the shelter. However, after ten days, the vet decided that things were not going well: he suspected that gangrene had set in. Amputation was the only solution, it seemed. But when the volunteers came to get Blackie, the vet had not amputated the leg: he saw a solution to save it. And yes, it might have taken a year, but this ravishing donkey recovered, with all four legs still functioning and in place. Blackie is a lovely, quiet donkey, who is enjoying life. He is black all over, which is very unusual in donkeys, hence his name.

We happened to discover him trespassing. During feeding time he jumps away from the herd, runs for a while and comes back to eat. And that ritual was not known to the volunteers, so they went to investigate. And yes, the donkey was an intruder, who had jumped the fence to come inside. Together with a few visitors, the donkey was herded into a coral, because a stallion is not allowed to be in the herd. The helpful visitors named this donkey Bandit, because of his `criminal’ behavior. After his castration Bandit was released into the herd and he was accepted really fast. Normally that might take a while, but Bandit was welcome after one day already. He is a gorgeous, but shy donkey. He is not dominant, but petting him or having him pose for a picture remains a problem.

He is probably the best-known donkey on the island, because whenever there is some activity going on, Ban Ban is taking the spotlight. He is also the first donkey of the sanctuary. Born in 1994, he got boiling water thrown all over his back. The children, who did that, thought it was a big joke. Volunteer Ramon took Ban Ban home to take care of; the sanctuary was not there yet. To prevent similar horrible incidents, the volunteers of the sanctuary decided to start a youth club, which has as its goal to teach children respect for animals and to take responsibility for their deeds. Throughout the years many children have learned that they can expect a lot of love and fun from animals in return.

Two years ago she was found sauntering in the middle of the road, together with three other donkeys, in Santa Lucia. That was too dangerous with so much traffic there. The volunteers of the sanctuary lured the four donkeys inside with treats, where they have stayed. Azzy has a malformed behind and one of the volunteers has renamed her Jennifer Lopez, Jay Lo. She listens to that nickname even better than to her real name Azzy. She is a quiet donkey who has made friends with donkey Cloudy; they are always together. Donkeys are that way, very faithful. They often have a friend (boyfriend or girlfriend) for life. They are truly grieving when they lose their good friend, for whatever reason.