Romania’s first Pet Therapy Project – ‘Donkey Time’ in Voluntari

Guest blog: My wife, Linda McLachlan, visited recently a pet therapy project taking place in Voluntari, on the outskirts of Bucharest. The idea behind it is simple yet impressive – bring vulnerable children and mistreated animals together to help each other overcome their unfortunate past experiences. 

‘It’s

long been argued that you can judge a society’s level of civilization

by how it treats its most vulnerable members. For anyone sympathetic to

that claim, last month marked a particularly proud moment for Romania,

with the opening of a remarkable new project which brings together two

of society’s most vulnerable groups – children with special needs and

mistreated animals – in an inspiring partnership.

The Donkey Time Pet Therapy project was officially launched on the 23^rd

of June, at the Don Orione Centre in Voluntari. It’s an initiative

which is set to add a popular new dimension to what’s already an

impressive source of care for both children with special needs and the

elderly. The four carefully selected donkeys, who will provide regular

riding and petting opportunities for the children, had traveled ten

days earlier from Cernavoda, where they had been in the care of British

charity, The Donkey Sanctuary, and its partner in Romania, Save the Dogs

and Other Animals. Working together over much of the last decade, these

two organisations have rescued countless mistreated, injured and

abandoned donkeys from around the Constanta region. And now some of

those donkeys are to find a new purpose in life, helping some other

vulnerable members of society.

Photo by Ann van der Velden

This

new development is in many ways thanks to a remarkable British woman,

the late Elizabeth Svendsen, who not only founded The Donkey Sanctuary

back in 1973, but also its sister charity, The Elizabeth Svendsen Trust.

A successful business woman but also a self-confessed donkey lover,

Elizabeth Svendsen followed her passions fearlessly throughout her life

and it’s not least thanks to her that Donkey Time is here now. The

Trust, which already runs six special riding centres, using rescued

donkeys, in the UK, has been responsible for the four new Romanian

recruits’ intensive training. Elizabeth died in May this year, aged 81.

But if you believe in an afterlife, you can be sure she was looking down

with pleasure on Voluntari last month. Of course, the emotional and

physical benefits of pet therapy are well documented – not least the

capacity for an animal to become a positive focus for a vulnerable

child’s affection, hopes and fears. Don’t those long, soft donkey ears

just invite secrets – and best of all you can be quite sure he won’t

tell’

Photo by Ann van der Velden