The Kent Life Donkeys are retiring

Have you heard? Our lovely donkeys Dora, Ellie and George are hanging up their saddles after many years of fun and donkey rides. They will be officially retiring as they are getting older and deserve a good rest. We can’t believe our oldest and wisest donkey, Dora, has reached the ripe old age of 20, Ellie is 17, and baby of the herd (although not much of a baby anymore!), George, is 12. As the farms’ longest-serving residents, Dora, Ellie and George are very special to Kent Life and I’m sure many of you have wonderful memories of meeting them.

Recently Dora has had a few medical problems and has needed a helping hand in getting back to her old self. Thankfully, her weight is now stable after we introduced a balancer and put her on a new diet. Ellie and George are not too impressed when she’s tucking into her extra meal of the day! To make sure she stays happy and healthy, we are keeping a close eye on her weight with a weekly weigh in, and both we and the vets are very happy she is improving. We love you, Dora!

Although the donkeys are going to be leading a quieter life, you’ll be glad to hear that they are still able to participate in the Adopt an Animal experience, which they absolutely love as they get showered in treats and attention!

Recently, Dora and Ellie have become popular choices for the Adoption scheme. George doesn’t seem too pleased about this however, and usually presents his backside to everyone when he is not being made a fuss of!!! Ellie tends to make lots of noise if Dora’s in the limelight, so we always make sure that she and George get plenty of treats and a good ear rub.

There’s no doubt that Dora, Ellie, and George will spend their retirement cheekily trying to shake down all the delicious, juicy apples from the trees in the orchard, attempting to gobble them up before the gardeners see. Though we have to keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t eat too many!

Dora, Ellie, and George would love to see you next time you visit, so make sure you pop in to say hello and give them a wave!

If you want to get to know our donkeys better, take a look at their passports here.

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