I'm staying with my Mum in the UK for a week and have left the menagerie in Alan's capable hands while I spoil my mother's Yorkie and tabby cat for a while!
I usually get a lot of reading in when at my Mum's house and I'm reading a fantastic book at the moment that I thoroughly recommend, Andy Merrifield's The Wisdom of Donkeys. I have always had a hankering for a donkey or two and this feeling was reinforced when I wrote a feature on miniature Sardinian donkeys a few years back while editor of Italy magazine.
The famous Donkey Santuary in Sidmouth has worked since 2004 helping to rescue donkeys in Italy and there is now a new sanctuary Il Rifugio Degli Asinelli which is working to help these gentle creatures. Incredibly and horribly, many donkeys in Italy are destined to be eaten as salami and are imported from abroad including Romania. The Rifugio already has 70 donkeys and hopes to be able to take in over 250 in new accommodation. They are a registered charity and if you pay Italian income tax you can pledge your 5/1000 to them. Ask your accountant how to do this.
In the meantime if you hear of any donkeys needing a home – let me know!