Little Donkey!

Take a look around The Flicka Foundation, the sanctuary giving love and comfort this Christmas and beyond to donkeys who’ve had a rough start in life

- Katharine Wootton

Take a peek at those adorable little faces! A motley crew looking forward to one of the best Christmases they’ve ever had, surrounded by friends, with two legs and four, lots of love and plenty of treats! From naughty donkeys to know-it-all donkeys, cheeky ones to kind-hearted ones, every single donkey at The Flicka Foundation has its own beautiful personality but each, sadly, also has a sorry tale to tell of their past.

For friends Judy Giles and Laurie Stephenson, who run The Flicka Foundation in Cornwall, caring for donkeys came about somewhat accidentally.

It all started when Judy’s mum, Mary Berryman, began a foundation caring for horses and ponies in 1995 which life-long animal lovers Judy and her friend Laurie soon started helping out with. But it was in 2008 after the sad passing of Mary that Judy received a phone call that changed everything.

“My mum had always loved donkeys and, as a child, I used to buy her little donkey trinkets to put around the house.But, sadly, we never got any donkeys into the sanctuary. “When mum died, the heart of the charity had left us and we were ready to call it a day and put the site of the sanctuary up for sale when we got a phone call from an animal welfare organisation asking if we could take in five donkeys.