Faith Burden's blog

Believe it or not spring is around the corner! After a particularly cold and wet winter we are all looking forward to the grass starting to grow and daylight hours getting longer. Spring is a wonderful time of year and our donkeys and mules enjoy it as much as we do.

What’s the best way to be upstaged? Appear alongside Alvis! It’s ok your eyes are deceiving you Elvis has not appeared here in the UK. Alvis is a 24 year old donkey from our donkey assisted therapy centre in Birmingham who I had the pleasure of spending time with this week.

In the projects department we are celebrating this week as we have seen the results of many years of work being published in the Equine Veterinary Journal, an international publication aimed specifically at equine vets.

The recent sunny weather has been very welcome after a particularly cold winter. Here at the Sanctuary some of our animals are enjoying the opportunity to stretch their legs and have a bite of sweet grass. I have really enjoyed watching the first spring flowers appear, the foals that are frolicking in their paddocks and the oldies sunbathing quietly in their favourite spots.

I have recently returned from South Africa where I was responsible for running a series of lectures, workshops and community engagement activities alongside our Director of Veterinary Services, Andrew Trawford, and the University of Pretoria Veterinary Faculty.

Last week we were pleased to welcome 45 first year undergraduate students from the University of Plymouth. The students have just begun their studies in ‘Animal Behaviour and Welfare’ and are spending parts of their first term visiting local animal charities and conservation organisations.