Shilo’s Sanctuary, at Grove Hill

08/17/2024

Farm life wisdom: trust and respect needs to be present, on BOTH ends of the lead line, or you are doomed to fail.

If only we could apply this to every relationship we have. Not just with animals.

07/16/2024

After fostering with us, for almost a year, Rachel and Wilbur were able to go back home and be with their original owners, on Sunday. We will miss them, but I am very happy for them all! Days like this make the hard days easier. 💕

10/05/2023

As of yesterday, I couldn’t get near Wilbur. His prior owners came to see him, last night. Today, he decided that I was his best friend! Donkeys are so smart…. They approved of his new home, and he clearly accepted that.

09/23/2023

Wilbur….

09/23/2023

Rachelle…

09/23/2023

Please help us welcome our newest residents! Wilbur and Rachelle! Couple videos to follow!!

09/01/2023

Mr Shilo’s Uber just picked him up to go be an ambassador, at the Harmony Free Fair!!!

08/18/2023

Highly recommend DuPont Farrier Service!!! I will never call anyone else, as long as they are in business. Incredible people. Incredible service. Amazing prices!!!

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100067533829801&mibextid=LQQJ4d

Corrective work, long footed show, hot n cold shoeing, n performance. Your horse is my top priority!

05/05/2023

Good afternoon my fellow animal lovers! I am wondering if anyone would be interested in volunteering to be our fundraising coordinator? You don’t have to be local. We can send you any pictures or information that you might need. We just need someone willing to put in a little time and effort. We have a great crew here, but most of us prefer more hands on, over trying to ”sell” ourselves. 😉 We would very much appreciate any help we can get! Thank you for taking the time to read this post and we hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Weather is looking good!

04/23/2023

An amazing fact about donkeys… one always stands guard, while the others rest. Love them!!!

04/23/2023

Pure white peahen, went to her new home today! Have fun with your new mate and new humans, beautiful girl!

I feel like “Thanks Auntie,” is now implied. She helps me every time!

04/20/2023

Today was spring check ups and shots, for all the babies, as well as an ultrasound on Miss Luna.

These babies were super fresh today!!! They are a very well behaved bunch, but not today!

Our youngest, Festus, almost had me face planted in a poo pile, he dragged me through… Shilo wanted no part of any of it… My Aunt, Tammy, who he used to live with, was finally able to catch him and walk him back up for his turn. He made us fight for the exam...

Miss Carol Sereno was also here to help. She tried to bring in some treats, to help get them to cooperate… NOPE! They lost every single manner they were ever taught… hog piled her, smacked the grain out of her hand, just overall misbehaving!

Then there was Oatie…. He used to be our problem child. Now he is one of our sweetest, which is amazing since he is an intact Jack. He decided to try to eat a lead rope, while we were trying to halter one of the others. He refused to let go of it, so he held it in his mouth and let the vet do everything she needed to, no halter, just not willing to react and give up the rope! LOL

You just never know, from day to day, what you are going to get from them. The only thing you always know… at least one of them will ALWAYS make it entertaining.

Thank you to Foxcroft Large Animal Vets, and my ladies for all of their help today. I couldn’t do this without all of you, even the ones who didn’t happen to be here today, but wanted to be.

Whoops… I buried the lead… Lunas ultrasound showed no baby, at this time.

04/16/2023

Would like to give Christine a big thank you for volunteering her time with the donkeys. She loves them and they give her love and respect right back. We are very happy to have her!

03/18/2023

So, this is not donkey related, but still one of our babies. Forest, a.k.a. “Big boy,” got very sick. Started slowly, then got a little scary. After spending some time with our amazing vet, we learned that he is diabetic! He is home now, on the mend. We are learning about doing his insulin shots, and what to do in an emergency. I will be taking him in again, next week, to make sure his levels are maintaining.

03/08/2023

I would like to say thank you, to whomever filed a complaint with the state. The complaint was found to be not credible and I believe that it has opened up a new opportunity for us. Stay tuned! I am excited to see where this adventure takes us next!

02/06/2023

I have been putting off making this post, because I wasn’t ready to accept it yet. Del fought hard and everyone fought hard for him… prayer warriors, the vets, our workers/volunteers, my family…. Unfortunately, he lost the battle. He will be truly missed. Before he got sick, he was an amazing example of how love can turn things around. Forever in our hearts ❤️

02/01/2023

MY LITTLE FARM ❤
“Farm work doesn’t make you stronger. It doesn’t make you anything. It reveals you.
There’s gym strong and then there’s farm strong. They’re mutually exclusive. The toughest women you’ll ever meet spend their days on a farm.
There are more uses for twine than you can possibly imagine. You can tie up a hole in a slow feeder, fashion a tail strap for a horse’s blanket, mend a broken fence and use it as a belt.
“Well that certainly didn’t go as planned,” is one thing you’ll say quite a bit.
Control is a mere illusion. The thought that you have any, at any given time, is utterly false.
Sometimes sleep is a luxury. So are lunch and dinner. And brushing your hair.
If you’ve never felt your obliques contract, then you’ve never tried stopping an overly full wheelbarrow of horse manure from tipping over sideways. Trust me, you’ll find muscles that you never knew existed on the human skeleton to prevent this from happening.
When one of the animals is ill, you’ll go to heroic lengths to minimize their discomfort.
Their needs come first. In summer heat and coldest winter days. Clean water, clean bed, and plenty of feed. Before you have your first meal, they all eat.
When you lose one of them, even though you know that day is inevitable, you still feel sadness, angst and emotional pain from the top of your head to the tips of your toes. And it’s a heaviness that lingers even though you must regroup and press on.
You’ll cry a lot. But you’ll never live more fully. You’ll remain present no matter what because you must. There is no other option.
You’ll ask for so many miracles and hold out hope until the very last.
You will, at least once, face-plant in the manure pile. You’ll find yourself saying things like, “we have maybe twenty minutes of daylight left to git ‘er done” whilst gazing up at a nonspecific place in the sky.
You’ll become weirdly obsessive about the weather.
You’ll go out in public wearing filthy clothes and smelling of dirt, sweat and p**p. People will look at you sideways and krinkle their noses but you won’t care.
Your entire day can derail within ten seconds of the rising sun.
You can wash your coveralls. They won’t look any cleaner, but they will smell much nicer.
Farm work is difficult in its simplicity.
You’ll always notice just how beautiful sunrises and sunsets really are.
Should you ever have the opportunity to work on a farm, take the chance! You will never do anything more satisfying in your entire life.”

01/31/2023

01/30/2023

I am going to apologize now... there has not been much change for Del, but he is still fighting! The next few days we will be trying to button things up, and make sure the babies are prepared for the nasty cold snap that is coming. So, if you don’t see any updates.… no news, is good news!! ❤️

01/29/2023

If anyone is interested in helping with Dels vet care, we will extend the earlier raffle to include those donations as well. We had been looking to raise money for ground work and new fencing, which is still needed. However, Dels care has become the priority. Between vet visits, testing, all new hay, shots, etc… our funds are depleting fast.

If you are interested in helping, you can mail checks to:
Shilo’s Sanctuary @ Grove Hill
1181 Main Street
Ripley, Me 04930

Or visit:

01/29/2023

I am sorry that I haven’t updated you all, for a few days. Unfortunately, Del went down again, so he is back in the sling. He was stronger than the last time and was able to walk, once the guys got him up. We moved him into the shelter, with his friends, and gave him a vitamin E/selenium shot. We are working hard at putting some weight on him, hoping to increase his strength. Thank you all for your continued prayers.

01/25/2023

He is not a fan of me, a.k.a. The shot lady, right now… but he is up on his own and hanging with his friends again! Now to put some weight back on him…

01/25/2023

We are not out of the woods with Del yet, but I would like to thank everyone who has participated in helping us come this far with him. First of all to my husband, who always steps up and gives 1000% to the babies. To Gerald, Roger and Craig, who helped get him off the ground and into a sling, my wonderful family for always helping with care and support, my volunteers Christine and Carol, who also give all of their love and support, Foxcroft Large Animal Vet, for showing up every time I call, Jason our hay supplier, who helped the guys go through every bale of hay, to make sure we got the best ones, Reggie and the guys who keep the babies clean and comfortable, and anything else we ask of them, and to all of you for your love, support, and prayers. We can not do any of this, without all of you. I apologize to anyone I may have not named specifically. So many people make this place work. You all mean the world to me! Thank you! ❤️

01/25/2023

Great news! Del was taken out of his sling, this morning, and immediately walked out to be with his friends! We will still be keeping a close eye on him, but hopes are high!! Thank you all for your continued thoughts and prayers. Let’s keep the prayers going, for a full recovery! ❤

01/23/2023

Update on Del… he seems to be getting stronger, every day. We had planned to try taking him out of the sling, this morning but, due to storm cleanup we are not able to watch him as closely as we need to, for that. My husband lost his wedding ring, in one of the hay bins, last night… so, Dels buddies took advantage of no one paying attention, and they all went to visit him. ❤️ He was very happy to see them!