It was 30 years ago, on August 24, 1994, that Sheila Burns made an extra special friend who would completely change the trajectory of her life.
Even though PrimRose the donkey — the namesake of PrimRose Donkey Sanctuary, which Burns owns and operates at 1296 Bowmanton Road in Roseneath — passed away in February 2021 in her 47th year, Burns continues to celebrate her birthday every August. This year, she will be celebrating PrimRose’s 50th birthday in a way the sweet-loving donkey would have appreciated.
“She loved cake and cookies,” Burns recalls. “She could eat cake right off your fork.”
Cake and sweets galore will be available at PrimRose’s birthday celebrations taking place from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday (August 25), with admission by donation. Come with your singing voices as the afternoon will include singing “Happy Birthday” to Raspberry, who took over as the sanctuary’s ambassador after PrimRose passed away.
The day will also include lemonade, iced tea, and cupcakes for the two-legged party guests, while the donkeys will have an extra special cake made by a PrimRose Donkey Sanctuary volunteer.
“It’ll have 47 slivered carrots standing upright like candles and it’s vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, and low-calorie,” says Burns, adding that she taste-tested it once. “It tastes like a granola bar without the sugar.”
PrimRose — who liked to fashionably wear her halter at an angle and wore pearls and tiaras — was not only the sanctuary’s namesake but the donkey who started it all. She was the first donkey Burns ever adopted, back when PrimRose was just 20 years old and Burns was still living in Georgetown.
Before adopting PrimRose and her daughter Jilly, Burns had never so much as even pet a donkey, let alone cared for one, but she instantly fell in love, adopted more, moved to Roseneath to open the sanctuary, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Today, the registered charity is home to roughly 80 donkeys, mules (the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse), and hinnies (the offspring of a female donkey and a male horse), as well as a sheep, a goat, a pot-bellied big, and 12 cats. The sanctuary is open Thursdays and Sundays from 1 to 3 p.m., where the volunteers will walk you through and tell you all about the animals and the farm.
One-hour personal tours are also available for $20 at 11 a.m. both days, as well as the new Traditional English Tea where guests an dine on tea, scones, cookies, and finger sandwiches while on the farm surrounded by the animals.
“They can walk around the farm, intermingling with the donkeys, stopping, chatting, and hugging, while also learning from our wonderful volunteers,” says Burns, adding that it’s “really fun.”
If, while on the tour, you fall in love with one of the donkeys, you can choose to sponsor them for a full year for $700, which covers annual costs for hoof care, food, vaccinations, and other vet care.
“If you sponsor a donkey, you can come at any time — as long as you give me notice — and groom the donkey and talk to them and I’ll send you pictures,” Burns says. “It’s basically your donkey for a year.”
Others who want to interact more regularly with the donkeys can sign up as a volunteer. With school back in session soon, PrimRose Donkey Sanctuary offers the chance for high school students to get their required volunteer hours with regularly scheduled work.
Volunteers can come every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for work ranging from cleaning out stalls, filling up water, hay, and straw, and doing other chores, with some grooming in the afternoon “to take (your) cares away and bond” with the animals.
“The students come in here the first day and they’re a little apprehensive, but after the third or fourth time they’re out there talking to the donkeys, hugging them, walking them around,” Burns says, adding with a laugh that volunteers need to be careful of some of the donkeys who like to knock over wheelbarrows that are full of manure.
“I’ve had some volunteers who’ve stayed on for a couple of years doing volunteer work,” she notes.
Burns admits she likes seeing the way the donkeys grow on the volunteers and how the more they interact with each other — like herself when she first adopted PrimRose all those years ago — the more they break the “frustrating” stigma around donkeys.
“You see these cartoon donkeys with their ears and teeth out and they’re dumb and stubborn or hard to get along with, but they’re so completely opposite,” she says. “They can be so gentle and kind, and they’re very stoic and loyal and will protect you against anything.”
Burns adds that one of the reasons she welcomes people in to meet the animals is the “emotional cure” she knows they offer.
“If you just hug them, they’ll give you that cure back,” she says. “Is there something bothering you? Just go out and talk to a donkey and you’ll feel so much better, instantly. I’ve heard that people have bad pain and they’ve gone out to talk to a donkey and they walk away with no pain. They’re magical.”
Visit www.primrosedonkeysanctuary.com for more information on PrimRose Donkey Sanctuary, including how to donate and sponsor a donkey.
You can also follow the sanctuary on Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter) to keep up to date on future events including World Animal Day celebrations on Sunday, September 22nd and Christmas carolling on Sunday, December 8th.
