Our Team
Our most important team members – the donkeys!
Saffron
Saffron, mother to Pippin and Jack and our oldest donkey. Saffron is the matriarch of our donkey herd. She is very vocal, especially at feed times and loves nothing better than a good bottom scratch. She has even been known to reverse up to people and ask for a scratch!
Saffy does not always enjoy going indoors and so her favourite visits are the ones where she can stay outside eating.
Bo Peep
Bo Peep is our next oldest donkey and mother to Pixie and Millie. Bo Peep is a quiet soul and will enjoy a cuddle on her own terms. She has a special feeling for people who are poorly, who need a bit of a boost, or who are real animal lovers.
She will make a bee line for certain people on visits and quite often we find that the person has worked with horses or kept donkeys. Bo Peep enjoys a quiet neck rub or chest scratch.
Pippin
Pippin is the first donkey that we bred. She is a brilliant therapy donkey and has done visits with her mum, Saffy, since she was 8 weeks old.
She loves playing football, running around the field and stealing apples!
Pixie
Pixie loves going on visits, giving cuddles and eating ginger biscuits! She is a real poser and loves having her photo taken.
Her favourite things are trying to bully Pippin and has learnt very quickly how easy it is to open gate!
Millie
Millie is our tiniest donkey at just 29” high ! The second daughter to Bo-Peep she started going out on therapy visits when she was just 3 months old.
Millie is our bravest donkey despite being small and will happily go up in a lift so that residents that are bed or room bound can still experience the wonderful feeling of the magic that the minidonks bring.
Jack
What can we say about Jack!!! He is the cheekiest and youngest of our Donkeys. He loves to try new things, go on adventures, play and generally have a good time bringing smiles and giggles to people he meets.
He is often found to be playing with his mum Saffy on the yard trying to bite her ankles!
Sarah
Sarah McPherson is our Founder and Managing Director. She started Miniature Donkeys for Wellbeing Ltd after losing her mum to dementia and looking after her dad who has vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Her first donkey visit was to the nursing home where they were both living. She loves what she does and is passionate about keeping her donkeys healthy and happy, and using them to bring happiness to people who are in need of a boost.
Claire
Our Deputy Manager Claire Hughes joined us in March 2024. She came from a background in animal rescue having spent several years managing a local animal sanctuary. Her love of larger animals and equines grew from this and an introduction to our MiniDonks sealed the deal. Claire will mostly be seen behind the wheel of the lorry and leading many of our wellbeing visits. When back at HQ she’ll often be found entertaining the donkeys with new and exciting forms of enrichment, in between the not so exciting admin duties.
Julie
Our Administrator who joined us in February 2024 is Julie Andrews, who has come from a background in horses having owned her own and worked with them in various places including being stables manager at Newmarket Equine Hospital. Her love of Donkeys came from holidays on the beach and the infamous ‘Donkey Derbys’! Her passion continues with a mix of admin and keeping the donkeys and yard clean without being mobbed for cuddles! Julie is also a team leader and delivers some of our visits which she wishes her mum was around to see and enjoy herself.
Our volunteers
We couldn’t do anything without our dedicated band of volunteers. We have a team of 20+, here are a few of our volunteers.
Sandra
Sandra Merritt joined us at the very beginning of our enterprise. She loves being with the donkeys and helping to deliver our wellbeing visits. She says this about being a volunteer for Miniature Donkeys for Wellbeing Ltd, “After my husband died it left a void in my life and volunteering with Sarah has really helped with that….volunteering with the donkeys is wonderful. I really feel like I belong to something really important.”
Lisa
Not all our volunteers can regularly take part in visits, Lisa enjoys helping out behind the scenes & her previous experience working with young stock on Thoroughbred Stud Farms comes in handy when walking the young donkeys in the middle of winter when they can be a bit flighty. Lisa says “Spending time with the Minidonks, Sarah and the other volunteers is such a positive and enjoyable experience. The donkeys have such great characters they can’t help but make you smile and it’s always wonderful to see the looks on people’s faces when they get to meet them. The donkeys really do bring joy to wherever they go.“
Georgina
“I first encountered the Minidonks in 2021 when Millie visited my Dad, who was living with advanced vascular dementia, at the care home where he was a resident. The effect Millie had on him was amazing – my Dad came alive again!
The effect on me was just as profound, I began volunteering with the Minidonks in August 2022 and take part in as many visits as possible. I love being part of a fabulous team and am incredibly passionate about what we do, volunteering has improved my confidence and mental health, and those little donkeys really do bring joy wherever they go.“
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