Olympe's eyesight is failing more and more

Santino has become her helping friend

Donkey Olympe brought a bad and a beautiful story with her, when she was taken in together with her daughter Mona in June 2017 in Henndorf. The then one-year-old Mona and her donkey mama Olympe, warne in a catastrophic, neglected condition. The donkeys were insecure, fearful and we had to gain their trust over a long period of time.

"What's the point of getting excited, they're going to the slaughterhouse..."

Two ladies were the life savers of the two donkeys. They reacted spontaneously and thus saved the lives of Olympe and Mona. The animal-loving ladies had 24 hours to get the two female donkeys out of the stable and bring them to safety in a new home. The neglect and hardship of the owner was the bad thing, the unborn foal in the belly of the highly pregnant mare was the beautiful thing. The former owner revealed to us that the foal would be born around Christmas time.

There were tears of joy and tears of horror

Olympe's hooves had not seen a farrier for several years. They grew upwards like a crescent moon and the mare had been suffering terrible pain for a long time. The donkey foal in her belly weighed about 60 kg - every gram put pressure on her neglected, aching hooves. We wanted to lead Mona to the meadow, but she stopped as if rooted to the spot: "Meadow, what is that, I don't know", she seemed to tell us.

The vet, the farrier and all our animal caretakers had tears in their eyes. Olympe's hooves were straightened, the coat brushed and the fresh hay tasted more than good.

Slowly, Olympe and Mona gained confidence and both settled in better and better in the Henndorf donkey family.

Christmas was brought forward - excitement in the donkey stable

The foal was probably going to be born in September. Olympe went into labor and the vet, who had just left the farm, had to come back.
Olympe knew what she had to do and the birth went smoothly. Little Paul stood there - wobbly on his miserable little donkey legs and his mama licked him dry. All the donkeys cried a loud "Iah" and Paul was welcomed.

Five years have passed...

Paul has become a handsome donkey who now accompanies his mother around the farm together with his sister Mona. Olympe is gradually losing her sight. At first, she stood there a bit lost, moving her ears in all directions, nostrils smelling and sniffing. As if her children realized what was happening, they no longer leave their mommy's side, but are always very close to her. More and more confidently, Olympe now goes her own way. She feels that she is protected.

The wild Santino becomes a tender companion

The four-year-old Santino has become the constant companion of Olympe for a few weeks. He always walks to her right, keeping a low profile, but is always close to her, just like Mona and Paul.
His sometimes brash demeanor among the donkeys has changed. He is becoming more level-headed, calm and a gentle, careful companion to his new friend Olympe.

Santino was saved from slaughter about two years ago by animal-loving parents and their son: Santino. The light gray donkey with the beautifully drawn face was tied to a short rope.

Santino, the little son of the rescuers, wanted to get the desperately crying donkey out of his predicament. So the family negotiated with the owner, who wanted 300.00 euros for it.

"The purpose of my existence is to accompany Olympe".

The stupid donkey? The stubborn donkey? No, the donkey is empathetic, senses many things that we humans don't trust him with and is capable of changing his behavior. He became calmer and more level-headed and stands by his donkey friend Olympe.
How does he do that? He pokes her neck or shoulder very gently with his head when he notices she's not quite sure which way to go.