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Donkey Tales
96 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 1995
About the author
Elisabeth D. Svendsen
35 books2 followersElisabeth Doreen Svendsen MBE was a British animal welfare advocate and former hotelier. Svendsen founded The Donkey Sanctuary, an animal sanctuary headquartered in Sidmouth, England, in 1969 to help abused or homeless donkeys. She also founded a related charity, the Elisabeth Svendsen Trust for Children and Donkeys, located in Ivybridge, during the 1970s.
The Donkey Sanctuary has cared for more than 14,500 donkeys as of 2011. The sanctuary, which now has a veterinary hospital and overnight accommodations, employs approximately 500 people worldwide, including sixty in the United Kingdom who investigate reports of abused donkeys. Svendsen expanded the sanctuary to Latin America, Asia, and Africa. She founded a donkey hospital with emergency room in Ethiopia, where the lifespan of a donkey is just nine years. Mobile donkey clinics have also been dispatched in Mexico, Kenya, and India.
Svendsen's sister charity to the Donkey Sanctuary, the Elisabeth Svendsen Trust for Children and Donkeys, provides riding therapy between donkeys and children with special needs.
During her career, Svendsen authored more than twelve books, including two autobiographies, Down Among the Donkeys in 1981 and For the Love of Donkeys in 1993, as well as a series of children's books.
Svendsen became a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1980. In 2001, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals awarded her with the Lord Erskine Award. Elisabeth Svendsen died at her home on 11 May 2011, after suffering a stroke at the age of 81. Her son, Paul Svendsen, is the head of The Donkey Sanctuary's European operations.
The Donkey Sanctuary has cared for more than 14,500 donkeys as of 2011. The sanctuary, which now has a veterinary hospital and overnight accommodations, employs approximately 500 people worldwide, including sixty in the United Kingdom who investigate reports of abused donkeys. Svendsen expanded the sanctuary to Latin America, Asia, and Africa. She founded a donkey hospital with emergency room in Ethiopia, where the lifespan of a donkey is just nine years. Mobile donkey clinics have also been dispatched in Mexico, Kenya, and India.
Svendsen's sister charity to the Donkey Sanctuary, the Elisabeth Svendsen Trust for Children and Donkeys, provides riding therapy between donkeys and children with special needs.
During her career, Svendsen authored more than twelve books, including two autobiographies, Down Among the Donkeys in 1981 and For the Love of Donkeys in 1993, as well as a series of children's books.
Svendsen became a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1980. In 2001, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals awarded her with the Lord Erskine Award. Elisabeth Svendsen died at her home on 11 May 2011, after suffering a stroke at the age of 81. Her son, Paul Svendsen, is the head of The Donkey Sanctuary's European operations.
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November 15, 2022
In 1969, Elizabeth Svendsen bought her first donkey, whom she named "Naughty Face". Soon afterwards, she noticed seven neglected donkeys housed in a small livestock pen in a market in Exeter. She tried unsuccessfully to purchase the donkey in the worst condition of the group, and from then on spent her life devoted to the welfare of donkeys. That year she founded the Donkey Sanctuary, an animal sanctuary with headquarters in Sidmouth, England, to help abused or homeless donkeys. Now her work as a British animal welfare advocate and lifelong donkey enthusiast is known throughout the world. Altogether the Donkey Sanctuary is responsible for 7,000 donkeys worldwide, with some housed in local farms and six public sanctuaries across the UK.
In later life, as well as still taking an active part in the daily running of the sanctuary, Elizabeth Svendsen wrote many books about the donkeys to raise money for the sanctuary and for all her donkey welfare work abroad. This is one such from 1995, containing ten anecdotal stories about individual donkeys—or more often pairs of donkeys—as they prefer to spend their time with a friend. They are heartwarming tales, although the conditions of the the donkeys when they arrive, and their earlier stories, are sometimes upsetting. Some of them come to the sanctuary because their owners can no longer care for them, but others because of ill treatment. Dr. Elizabeth Svendsen was an expert on donkey health, advising vets and working closely with the RSPCA, who still send all the donkeys whose owners they are prosecuting to the Donkey Sanctuary. Mostly books like this are for the whole family, although careful screening might be needed for reading to younger members.
The book is slightly oversize, with a glossy hard cover, and the illustrations are both colour and monochrome photos, plus some pencil drawings. These stories are mostly upbeat and gently humorous, where the author’s love for animals shines through.
In later life, as well as still taking an active part in the daily running of the sanctuary, Elizabeth Svendsen wrote many books about the donkeys to raise money for the sanctuary and for all her donkey welfare work abroad. This is one such from 1995, containing ten anecdotal stories about individual donkeys—or more often pairs of donkeys—as they prefer to spend their time with a friend. They are heartwarming tales, although the conditions of the the donkeys when they arrive, and their earlier stories, are sometimes upsetting. Some of them come to the sanctuary because their owners can no longer care for them, but others because of ill treatment. Dr. Elizabeth Svendsen was an expert on donkey health, advising vets and working closely with the RSPCA, who still send all the donkeys whose owners they are prosecuting to the Donkey Sanctuary. Mostly books like this are for the whole family, although careful screening might be needed for reading to younger members.
The book is slightly oversize, with a glossy hard cover, and the illustrations are both colour and monochrome photos, plus some pencil drawings. These stories are mostly upbeat and gently humorous, where the author’s love for animals shines through.
Displaying 1 of 1 review