When you have a dedicated team of animal-loving volunteers, you can save a lot of donkeys over 25 years.
In celebration of doing exactly that, Roseneath’s PrimRose Donkey Sanctuary has launched a new donor campaign to support the charity’s efforts to help even more animals throughout 2025 and for the next 25 years.
“It would be absolutely fabulous if people would help us do that,” says founder Sheila Burns.
Back in 2000, when Burns turned right onto Bowmanton Road in Roseneath to view a farm property that was for sale, she had no idea she would spend the next 25 years (and counting) caring for and rehabilitating donkeys. Living in Georgetown at the time, she was already looking after 12 donkeys — including the future sanctuary’s namesake, PrimRose — but initially had no intention of starting a sanctuary.
Within a couple of weeks after she moved to the Roseneath farm, people began reaching out to Burns about abused and neglected donkeys, which led to her first donkey rescue. Burns continued to take them in, before eventually deciding to found her sanctuary that became a registered charity in 2005. Today, her six-acre farm is home to more than 70 donkeys, mules, and hinnies at any given time, as well as other animals including a goat, a sheep, and several cats.
“You hear that there’s a reason for everything and there’s a reason why we turned right, and here we are 25 years later,” says Burns. “I am so blessed to have all these wonderful animals and all the help from volunteers that I have.”
Though the sanctuary’s mission is to care for and find a home for the donkeys, Burns explains that many of her volunteers have found healing through their time spent at the sanctuary and in interacting with the animals.
“The donkeys themselves are so intuitive and they know when you’re having a bad day,” she says.
“If you go up to a donkey and give him a hug, he’ll lean in on you even more. They’re so gentle. I’ve had people come to me and say they arrived with pain in their hip and it’s not there anymore when they leave — like the donkeys absorbed it. It’s just so therapeutic.”
Burns expresses how grateful she is to have nearly 50 volunteers who go to the farm on a regular basis — “even when it’s a gazillion degrees below zero” — to clean out the shelters, feed the animals, care for the donkeys, and complete other maintenance that needs to be done.
“My volunteers are absolutely fabulous, so dedicated, and have so much love for the donkeys,” she says. “They’ve been putting hay out in blistering winds, they’ve been fixing frozen water pipes, and they give the donkeys medication when they need it. It’s just totally amazing.”
Over 25 years, Burns has seen a community of volunteers come and go, with many of them supporting the sanctuary for long periods of time and forming strong connections with one another.
“If somebody has a problem and they discuss it at the lunch table, usually by the end of the lunch, we’ve solved it or we’ve got a way to go move forward,” she says. “Not only do the donkeys help the volunteers, but the volunteers help each other.”
In addition to celebrating 25 years in operation, PrimRose Donkey Sanctuary is also celebrating 20 years as a registered charity — something Burns says came with its challenges.
“Being a charity wasn’t easy because I wanted to rescue donkeys,” she says. “If it had been horses or dogs, I would’ve have had the charity status a lot sooner than I did.”
The reason, she explains, is the stigma associated with the animal, which Burns has been trying to change over the past 25 years by inviting visitors to interact with the donkeys, holding private tours of the sanctuary, and offering an afternoon tea party with the animals.
“There are people out there that think donkeys are useless, they’re stubborn, or they’re stupid,” she says. “But they are so the opposite — they are so smart.”
In honour of the 25th anniversary year, PrimRose Donkey Sanctuary is holding a “$25 on the 25th” fundraising campaign, inviting supporters to donate $25 on the 25th day of each month during 2025 — amounting to $300 per donor for the year. At that amount, the campaign would cover the approximate cost of the donkeys’ hay allotment throughout the year with just 50 donors.
Alternatively, those interested in supporting the sanctuary can sponsor a donkey for an annual cost of $700 or browse The Long Ears Auction. The auction, which has been refined for 2025 to have a monthly format, will run through its Facebook group every month from the 25th to the 28th. PrimRose Donkey Sanctuary accepts donations of new items for the auction, with all proceeds supporting the charity.
“It’s a very successful way to get many people involved,” says Burns.
PrimRose Donkey Sanctuary will also be hosting a 25th anniversary party this summer. From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, June 22, guests can interact with the donkeys with refreshments and snacks available.
“It’s going to be one big party — it’s going to be fabulous for 25 years,” says Burns, adding “the world is invited.”
Over the past 25 years, Burns has never lost her passion for helping donkeys.
“Bringing in a donkey that is near death and getting him back to health so that you see him running, eating, drinking, playing — it’s just so wonderful,” she says. “I’ve had donkeys born here and I have to say there’s nothing as cute as a baby donkey. They’re just up and going in a matter of hours and it’s just great to see.”
While she suggests it can be bittersweet to see some of the donkeys leave the sanctuary after she and the volunteers have grown so fond of them, Burns also enjoys receiving updates on their new lives.
“It’s hard to let them go because some of them we’ve brought back to health, but they’re happy and deserve their home,” she says.
“It’s just wonderful to see them go to a loving family, especially a family that has children. Children love the donkeys and the donkeys love children.”
Given her love for the job, it’s safe to say Burns only expects for PrimRose Donkey Sanctuary to thrive for another 25 years.
“This place is just amazing. I sit here in awe every day because it’s just wonderful.”
For more information about PrimRose Donkey Sanctuary or to volunteer or donate, visit www.primrosedonkeysanctuary.com. You can also follow the sanctuary on Facebook and Instagram.
