Meet Our Donkeys
Sox
Did you know ...
that all of our donkeys have their own unique personalities? Every donkey that comes to live at Long Ears Donkey Centre has their very own care plan, updated on a regular basis, to ensure their ever changing needs are constantly being met. All of our donkeys have a home for life here at LEDC; they will NEVER be sold on. Not all of our donkeys take part in EAL sessions, hospital or community visits, for a variety of reasons. Our donkeys are carefully matched to any visits or sessions which they take part in, and you can read all about their personalities, likes and dislikes right here on our 'Meet Our Donkeys' page.
Sox is a stunning skewbald donkey. Originally born in Ireland, he lived in Ingoldmells for a short time before coming to Long Ears Donkey Centre just before his 4th birthday in 2017. He is our lead donkey and is bursting with confidence. He enjoys meeting new people, visiting new places and eating ginger snaps as a special treat. He is definitely our nosiest donkey and is one of the stars of our children's story book 'Donkeys Love Ginger Biscuits'.
Sox
Bandit
Maurice
Bandit is an easy going, lovable donkey who is happy to plod around with his friends any time any where, as long as he's getting lots of cuddles and attention. He loves his food and it's very important that we take particular care to monitor his diet extra closely through the spring and summer months. His best friend is our miniature Mediterranean donkey called Teddy, though he also likes to play with all of the other donkeys and has recently taken up playing football with one of older residents Rupert. Along with Sox, Bandit is the other star of our children's story book 'Donkeys Love Ginger Biscuits', which can be purchased right here on our website, (paperback) or on Amazon, (in kindle format and paperback). If you purchase our book from this website, you can request a signed copy with a special message at no extra charge, with the money going towards our donkeys care and upkeep.
Teddy
Harbury Superted, (or 'Teddy' as he's known to his friends), is the smallest, member of our team. At 29inches high, Teddy is a special breed of donkey called a miniature Mediterranean. Teddy come to live with us when he was 7 months old and is an experienced therapy donkey. He is an extremely confident donkey who loves people and having lots of attention from humans, which means that he really enjoys visits to care homes, dementia centres, schools and community groups, as well as attending special events, where he likes having his chin, tummy and bottom itched, as well as having a ginger biscuit as a treat. His best friends are Joseph and Bandit and he really likes to play football and tug of war with them but he's also spotted regularly playing football with Tom and chasey, (tig) with Dominic our biggest donkey.
Joseph is a really friendly boy, with two distinctive brown 'stocking' markings on his front legs. He was originally born in Ireland and was then sent to an auction in Scotland. He was then sold from the auction, before living in Darlington for short time, where he lived with horses and alpacas but needed some donkey friends to call his own and that's how he came to live with us. He loves human interaction, having lots of hugs and attending educational talks at schools and community events across the north east with his best friend Teddy the donkey. He also likes going for walks and enjoys participating in 'donkey walking' with his friend Tom the donkey and his human friends. Did you know that you can adopt Joseph and other donkeys? Find out more about donkey adoption in our shop.
Joseph
Dominic is a sweet donkey who was very nervous when he first came to live with us and it look him well over a year to truly settle in. Due to my terrible mobile phone signal and slow 'dinosaur like' phone, we almost missed out on purchasing this beautiful boy from a WhatsApp auction, but thankfully he didn't meet the reserve and we were able to buy him after the auction had ended. Born in Ireland, he had several homes in quick succession through no fault of his own, but now he will live out his days here at LEDC and has lots of donkey friends.
Maurice is an experienced donkey who came to live with the rest of the Blackberry Donkeys at Long Ears Donkey Centre during covid-19. He is absolutely wonderful, loves being around humans and really enjoys visiting care homes, special educational needs groups and schools etc. His favourite things in the whole world are to have his ears itched, be groomed and enjoy a few donkey treats. His most recent claim to fame is eating a carrot on the set of 'A Woman of Substance' on channel 4, as part of the Christmas day scene.
Tom is a rescue donkey who didn't have a great start in life. He came to live with us in May 2023 after being rescued by a wonderful lady called Gemma in Doncaster. Despite everything he's been through, he is full of character, has a very outgoing personality, loves humans and has settled in really quickly. He absolutely loves being around humans, being groomed by humans and playing football and tug of war with his donkey friends. He also likes going for walks with his donkey friends and humans and is often seen out and about at community events. You may notice that Tom has an extremely long coat and a mane and tail which looks a little more like a pony mane and tail. He also has long tassels which dangle from his ears. Tom requires a lot more grooming than the other donkeys due to his long coat and gets an extra spray of equine detangler!
Tom
Dominic
Tom
Rupert and Paddington
Rupert
Rupert and Paddington are our two more elderly donkeys in their twenties, who came to live with us when their owners passed away and their family members wanted them to go to a lifelong home together, where they would have other donkey friends too. They are both loving, outgoing donkeys around humans, who have both settled in very well and we keep in touch with their old family members. Paddington loves a snuggle with humans and Rupert loves lots and lots of attention, and if the focus isn't on him, he nibbles and tugs on your clothing to get your attention! Born on a large estate in Ireland, they spent most of their lives in Whitehaven with their previous owners. Paddington and Rupert are fit and healthy and love being with people, but do not attend visits away from the centre, as they aren't used to travelling or being away from home. Once our newly built centre opens in 2027, visitors will be able to see these two gorgeous boys in their home surroundings.
Rupert and Paddington
