Why don't you come and enjoy donkeys' company during Bank Holidays? Our Rifugio is always open from 10 am to 6.30 pm - even on 25th April and 1st May.
Free admission, no booking required.
First time at our Rifugio? Read here how to reach us.
Our Rifugio has just landed on Worth Wearing, "the first online platform for the creation and distribution of t-shirts on demand, to finance projects and ideas for change": from today you can buy t-shirts, sweatshirts, mugs and notebooks with slogan "Handle with care" and the tender design created and donated by Laura Concheiro.
To all the visitors, we said that her race, Poitou, was also called "donkey mammuth" and Fleur really looked like a timeless creature. Majestic and shy, with very long, tick hair that covered her dark and good eyes: she was one of a kind and it is very difficult to talk about it in the past. In one of the most painful periods for our Rifugio, after Vincenzino and Sogno, she left us too, after months of illness and every kind of treatment to try and help her.
The last week the Income revenue authority has published the list of choices related to 5X1000 (referring to 2016): 2,287 Italian taxpayers decided to address a part of their taxes to our Rifugio, and this means that in the next months we will receive 74,532 Euros!
This will allow us to cover yearly expenses for food and bedding for over 130 donkeys, mules and hinnies.
There are no handkerchiefs large enough to hold some kind of tears. Today, accompanied by our vet and his life-companion Baby, Sogno, the oldest guest of the shelter and the only horse, was put to sleep, after that this morning he was struck by a cerebral ischemia that caused him a paresis of the back train.
Maybe you remember that some months ago we told you about the sudden loss of Jonny, one of our foster donkeys, and the choice taken by his guardians to welcome a new donkey, Mustafa, a giant-sized donkey who had been living at our Rifugio for ten years after being rescued in Isola d’Elba. We are really happy to give you some great updates, just as told by his enthusiastic guardians Lorenzo and Simona.
With a broken heart we tell you that we were forced to make the most difficult decision of our work: because of its irreversible clinical condition, which caused him continuous and unbearable pain, yesterday afternoon we put to sleep Vincenzino, one of the donkeys-symbol of distance adoption. His godparents and godmothers received the news this morning. He was 18 years old.
Since 1st April, our Rifugio will be open daily from 10 am to 6.30 pm. Summer opening time will be active until 30th September.
An extended opening time means more time with the donkeys! Please keep in mind that, in order to enjoy donkeys' company at best, we suggest you to come at least 1 hour before closing time.
For all the info you need to set up your visit, please read here.
On Sunday 23 March we will hold the first Grooming Day of the year: a monthly event which let everyone become "Groom for a day".
There are no age limits, neither fees: Grooming Days are free to join! All you have to do is coming to our Rifugio in the dates below and enjoy donkeys' company.
Today 20 March, it's celebrated Worldwide the International Day Of Happiness, a global movement for a happier world. So we want to ask you: what does make you happy?
For everyone here at our Rifugio, the answer is: what we do everyday for the donkeys. Their happiness is ours too, and it is our goal.
We want to give back hope and dignity to those donkeys who never had them before; make them serene; take care of them and ensure the best lives. To make a long story short, we want evry day to be a Day of Happiness for our donkeys!
