Donkeys arrive at the Sanctuary in search of a new home on a weekly basis, but in November 2009 we were surprised to hear that a group of 18 donkeys was on its way to Devon after being rescued from neglect in Yorkshire.

And so, one dark evening last November, I went along to our New Arrivals unit with camera in hand to photograph the group of nameless donkeys as they were unloaded from the lorries.

After holding a competition, each of the 18 donkeys were given names in time for Christmas and six weeks later most of them moved to their permanent new homes at Brookfield Farm and Woods Farm (two of our outlying farms not normally open to the public).

One of the donkeys was a young colt, now named Nero, who was fairly nervous and would clearly need extra attention and handling to give him confidence in humans.

Working in the press office, I often visit the farms so have been able to check in on most of this group of 18 donkeys on a regular basis over the last few months and see them thriving in their new homes.

Last week, I visited Woods Farm to see how Nero was settling in to Sanctuary life. We’ve put together this short video clip so that you see for yourselves how well he’s doing…enjoy!

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