Virginia Donkey Rescue

11/12/2022

11/12/2022

05/08/2019

PLEASE GO TO OUR NEW PAGE

Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue - Eastern Region

Unfortunately, Facebook won't let us merge the pages, but we are no longer posting on this page.

For adoption information, please visit: www.DonkeyAdoption.org. Filling out the adoption application is the first step in the process.

For rescue services, please visit: www.DonkeyRescue.org. Again, filling out the rescue services application is the first step in the process.

For all other inquires, please visit: www.PVDR.org.

30/01/2019

Another round of arctic air is spreading into the Midwest, bringing the coldest temperatures in two decades.

02/01/2019

Dear friends, adopters and supporters,

December 31st at midnight marked our 3rd year in business, and the last day that Virginia Donkey Rescue operated as a non-profit (see prior posts for those announcements).

The corporation will continue to exist mainly so no one else can take the business name and cause confusion with our prior adopters. Our page will stay up until we are able to contact all our prior adopters personally to make sure they are aware of this change. After that, it will be merged with our new page - Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue - Eastern Region.

The donkeys that have been adopted from Virginia Donkey Rescue and the agreements for those adoptions are still valid (another reason to keep the corporation in existence). Any adopters that need to return donkeys for any reason are welcome to do so - no questions asked - as always. Our adoption contract actually requires that donkeys be returned to us (they may not be sold, gifted, or disposed of in any way) if the adopter can not keep them.

If you return donkeys to us they will be absorbed by Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue (PVDR), and will be returned to the PVDR Eastern Region location at our same Concord, VA address: 414 Stonewall Rd., Concord, VA 24538.

PVDR has the same policies VDR had - and once a PVDR donkey, always a PVDR donkey. They donkeys will be protected for life by PVDR's policies and adoption contract should they be re-adopted.

Our contact information also hasn't changed. Again, the corporation still exists, the board is still intact, and we are still here to support you. The phone number is 844-433-4299 (or 844-Hee-Hawz). The email is [email protected] and the website is VirginiaDonkeyRescue.org.

The support we received from Virginia and beyond was simply amazing. Because of YOU, VDR was able to help 245 donkeys in the 2.5 years that we were active (the last 6 months PVDR took over donkey surrenders). I hope you will continue to support us at PVDR, as we have huge plans to help so many more donkeys. You can follow along on our new page Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue - Eastern Region until the pages are merged, and of course at PVDR's main page Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue.

With the deepest gratitude to all of you for all of your support these past three years. Sending huge donkey hugs from all of us at VDR/PVDR East, and we look forward to great things to come.

Kimberly Clark
Eastern States Regional Manager - Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue and founder of Virginia Donkey Rescue

04/11/2018

WE'VE GOT BIGGER (THE BIGGEST ACTUALLY) NEWS!

Dear Friends, Supporters and Donkey Lovers,

As you may remember, we announced big news in March about my involvement with Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue (the original post is below). Since that time, we have been looking for the right permanent location for PVDR's new Eastern Region facility. As it turns out, we realized there wasn’t anything better suited for ours and the donkey’s needs than where Virginia Donkey Rescue is located, so we've decided to make our Concord, VA location the new PVDR Eastern Regional hub.

To ensure that there are no potential conflicts of interest between non-profits, PVDR has graciously offered to absorb the VDR donkeys into PVDR's system and VDR has accepted. This will allow us to close Virginia Donkey Rescue as a non-profit which we will have finalized by year end.

This is even more exciting than our previous announcement as it allows me to be solely focused on PVDR and helping even more donkeys. Also, with PVDR being the largest equine rescue in the country, this is an amazing development for the donkeys taken in by Virginia Donkey Rescue, as it provides the best long-term security for them.

I hope you will continue to support the donkeys by supporting Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue and I hope you will follow our adventures at PVDR-East by liking and sharing our page.

Sending all of you huge donkey hugs for all your support these past three years! Our donkey loving family in Virginia and beyond has been so amazing. I look forward to continuing to build on that support and further the amazing relationships in my new role with Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue!

Kimberly Clark
VDR Founder
PVDR Eastern States Regional Manager

WE'VE GOT BIG NEWS!

Dear Friends, Supporters and Donkey Lovers,

I have an amazing update that I’m so excited to share with you. Those of you who have been following us since we started in 2015 know the reason Virginia Donkey Rescue (VDR) came about was due to our work fostering for Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue (PVDR) as a Satellite Adoption Center. PVDR typically only takes law enforcement cases, but as a Satellite Adoption Center we were inundated with owner surrender requests. The only way to say yes was to start our own nonprofit.

The exciting news is that Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue is restructuring to accommodate their astonishing growth and to better support their vast network of Satellite Adoption Centers. They have asked me to manage the Eastern States Region, and as part of that have agreed to take owner surrenders in Virginia.

This is a dream come true for me to be able to help more donkeys on an even bigger scale. This also means that Virginia Donkey Rescue can move to a sanctuary-based operation with owner surrender requests handled through PVDR.

Virginia Donkey Rescue will of course honor our commitment to the donkeys that have come into our system and to the people who have surrendered them and adopted from us. VDR will continue to operate our sanctuary program so as not to disrupt the special needs donkeys in our care. And, any VDR donkeys that need to come back to us as adopter returns will be adopted back out through VDR if possible or placed into VDR's sanctuary program.

My personal passion for donkeys and donkey rescue has been mirrored by so many of our wonderful supporters, especially in our sanctuary sponsorship program. Virginia Donkey Rescue looks forward to a long and continued relationship with all of you and we hope that you will also support Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue’s mission.

With much love and huge donkey hugs for your support,

Kimberly Clark
VDR Founder and Sanctuary Manager

P.S. For any questions, please feel free to contact me at [email protected]

03/10/2018

BRING YOUR DONKEY TO DONKTOBERFEST! See below for details and hope to see you there on Sunday!

27/09/2018

ONLY 10 DAYS TO GO ....

Among all the other great reasons to visit us at Donktoberfest 2018 is the "Donkey Hugging, Kissing and Photo Booth". Our hugging donkey is Re*****on, a black Mammoth who adores getting full body hugs and having his huge ears stroked. Our kissing donkey is Hoss, a standard dunn gelding who is the sweetest, kissy boy. And our special selfie donkey is a rare, double blue eyed donkey named Blu - pictured below - isn't he stunning! Admission is FREE as are the hugs, kisses and selfies!

25/09/2018

ONLY 12 DAYS AWAY!

Donktoberfest 2018 is right around the corner! New this year and not to be missed is the Parade of Donkeys and Costume Contest. Watch the costumed donkeys and their handlers (who may also be in costume) parade around the festivities to gather crowd support. The team with the loudest applause will be the winners. Any family friendly costume theme is welcome .. let us know if you plan to participate with YOUR donkey by commenting below.

10/09/2018

HURRICANE FLORENCE UPDATE

Hello everyone - thank you all for your messages asking if we are safe or if we need anything. Because we are busy prepping for the storm, I wanted to address everyone's concerns here, as I won't be able to answer all of your messages.

While the current forecast shows the Hurricane going right over us, we are a good distance from the ocean so storm surge doesn't impact us (we are just 10 minutes southeast of Lynchburg, VA). While the winds may present some issues, the heavy rains seem to be the biggest threat. Luckily, all of our donkey (and other critter) housing is at the top of a hill, making flooding unlikely at our location.

Thank you for your well wishes, but our bigger concern is for all of our donkey adopters located along the coast line. If any of you need a place to get your donkeys to higher ground, please call us at 844-433-4299 as we do have room arranged at a private farm nearby.

Sending donkey hugs to all of you affected by the storm!

26/08/2018

ADOPTER UPDATE: Bonnie and Sunny

This was such a happy adoption story for us! Bonnie and Sunny were rescued from a kill pen by another donkey rescue, but were placed with Little Longears Miniature Donkey Rescue. Little Longears asked if we could take them as they were running low on room. Bonnie and Sunny had babies about 6 months after coming here. Once they were done with the babies we felt like we'd need to put them on sanctuary as they were just never that into people. However, their placement at Meadow Farm ended up being the ideal situation for these shy girls. They get all the attention and care they want and need, yet aren't asked to do anything that makes them uneasy. And, we were able to take Toby, the resident donkey at Meadow Farms, and bring him here in exchange. Toby needed other boy donkeys to wrestle with, and Molly the Mule at Meadow Farms got two large donkey pals out of the exchange. It was a win-win for everyone - especially the donkeys.

Sunny (left) and Bonnie (right), our mother-daughter donkey pair. Adopted from Virginia Donkey Rescue.

26/08/2018

CENTRAL VIRGINIA FARRIERS

Donktoberfest 2018 is seeking a donkey loving farrier to participate in the "Donkey Experts Demo". If you want to grow your business in and around the C'Ville area, this is a great chance to strut your stuff to an equine loving crowd. We will even pay you to do trims during the event and we will supply you with awesome donkeys from our "Adoption Garden". For more info, contact [email protected].

22/08/2018

SAVE THE DATE!!!

Sunday, October 7th is Donktoberfest 2018 at Bold Rock Cidery. There are many new activities this year, but the cutest will certainly be the Costume Contest and Parade of Donkeys! Our own Little Lilly and friends will be participating - and we hope to see YOU and your donkey there too! Read below how to participate .. or just come to the event and have fun watching! Learn more at www.Donktoberfest.com.

NEW THIS YEAR: PARADE OF DONKEYS & COSTUME CONTEST

Are you brining your donkey to Donktoberfest this year? Besides participating in the casual Hee Haw Hike around the beautiful Bold Rock Meadow, you and your long eared friend can participate in the Costume Contest and Parade of Donkeys! If you don't have a donkey but would like to participate, send us a message - we may be able to help.

3:30 pm - COSTUME PARADE AROUND THE MEADOW
Wow the crowd! Donkey walkers are welcome to dress in theme too and teams are welcome. Costumes are not limited to Octoberfest themes, but they MUST be family friendly.

3:45 pm - LINE UP IN FRONT OF THE STAGE
The donkey (or team) with the loudest applause (and cutest outfit) will likely win.

4:00 pm - WINNERS ANNOUNCED
There will be awards for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners, and consolation prices for everyone else!

NOTE: If you are brining your donkey, you must also bring a current, negative coggins report and check in at the white tent near the entrance to the meadow from the parking area.

22/08/2018

DONKEYS AND LAMINITIS

Feeding inappropriately is the leading cause of laminitis in donkeys. Inappropriate feed includes too much grass/pasture, sweet feeds, many feeds designed for horses unless they are designated low starch, and too many sugary treats like cookies and even too many carrots or apples.

This is a handy Fact Sheet about laminitis - and while it refers to horses, it also applies to donkeys - however, donkeys in general are more prone to laminitis than horses.

This free fact sheet includes an overview of laminitis in horses, its causes, clinical signs, diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and tips for prevention.

01/08/2018

Just a cute baby donkey to brighten your day!