Donkey foal arrives out of the blue
DONKEY rescuer Dave Gregan from Gorey keeps five donkeys, but the father and grandfather recently had cause for celebration when another donkey foal arrived unexpectedly, bringing his total-to-six.
Living on the outskirts of Tara Hill and Castletown, Dave began rescuing donkeys four years ago.
‘It has been brilliant. I keep them behind the house, and they need taking care of every day.
The grandkids love coming up to see them; it’s a new world for them. Even during the lockdown, I was able to see the grandkids from a social distance when they came up to see the donkeys,’ said Dave.
He was delighted to welcome the latest addition to his abandoned donkey collection, but it was certainly unexpected.
‘The mare was donated to us from Blackwater. She settled in but we noticed she was getting heavier. I called the man who dropped her in and asked if there’d be any chance she was in foal, and he told me there was no way and if she was it’d be an immaculate conception.’
This only added to the surprise when Dave’s son Tony came across the donkey the next morning, after she had spent the night giving birth.
‘The grandkids wanted to name the foal Harold, but we soon found out that it was female and my granddaughter Evie named her Sophia. It’s really just a bonus now to have the foal and for the grandkids to see her running around.
‘This has shown us that life goes on, and there was certainly no lockdown for the donkeys,’ said Dave.
After the tough time for the country and the world during Covid-19, and as the foal finds its feet, the family look forward to keeping up the good work with their six donkeys.