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SEPTEMBER 2025
HERD & ALEX
Oscar's Place
At Oscar’s Place, the well-being of every donkey is our top priority, and this often means creating individualized care plans to address their unique needs. One key aspect of this care is special feeding schedules, which are tailored to each donkey’s specific health requirements. With so many donkeys under our care, it’s no small task, but it’s an essential part of ensuring their health and happiness.
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Donkeys arrive at Oscar’s Place with a variety of backgrounds, and many of them need extra support when it comes to nutrition. Some arrive severely underweight, often due to neglect or inadequate care in their previous lives. For these donkeys, we develop a feeding program designed to help them safely gain weight and regain their strength. This process requires careful attention to ensure that their diets are nutritious but not overwhelming.
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Pregnant donkeys and new mothers have their own set of nutritional needs. To support both their health and that of their foals, we provide pre- and post-natal vitamins along with their specialized feeding. This ensures that these donkeys receive the nutrients they need during such an important time in their lives.
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Senior donkeys, who often come to us with severely worn or missing teeth, also require specialized care. Their diets must be soft and easy to eat to prevent issues like choking or discomfort. These diets typically include soaked grains, shredded hay, and other softened feeds that are easy for them to chew and digest. For these seniors, every meal is a carefully prepared blend tailored to their needs, ensuring they can eat comfortably and stay healthy.
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Feeding schedules at the sanctuary are dynamic and ever-changing, reflecting the evolving needs of each donkey. Adjustments are made regularly to accommodate changes in health, age, or circumstances. Managing these schedules is a significant responsibility, and animal caretakers like Alex are at the heart of this vital work.
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Alex and other animal caretakers oversee these special feedings twice a day, seven days a week. It’s a demanding job that requires attention to detail, consistency, and a deep understanding of each donkey’s needs. From preparing specialized meals to monitoring each donkey’s eating habits and overall health, this job is critical to each donkey's health.
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This work goes beyond simply providing food—it’s about ensuring that every donkey feels cared for and supported, no matter their age, condition, or background. This feeding schedule is a reflection of Oscar’s Place’s commitment to individualized care and the incredible dedication of the staff and volunteers who make it all possible.
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Through these efforts, we’re able to give every donkey the best chance at a healthy and happy life, one meal at a time.
About the Photographer:​
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Johanna Siegmann is an internally award-winning portrait and architecture photographer, specializing in photographing people with their pets. A collection of her unique images, which capture the relationship between humans and animal, has been published as In Good Company (Notable People with their Pets), available online globally and via special order from your local bookstore. Johanna believes in giving back to the community, and a portion of the proceeds from the book are going to charity. She has donated her time and talent to Oscar’s Place for this calendar project.
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About Oscar's Place:​
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Donkeys are some of the most loving and trusting creatures on Earth, and when they suffer because humans are unkind, Oscar’s Place steps in. While we’re just a team of everyday individuals, we deeply care for and are committed to providing a safe haven for donkeys in need.​ We focus on donkeys because the world's donkey population is being decimated. Not by disease, global warming, or predators. But because there is a high demand for their hides in the creation of a traditional Chinese medicine.
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They deserve better than to be abused, crowded into horrifying transport containers, and shipped off to slaughter factories. Our mission is straight-forward: To every donkey that makes its way to Oscar’s Place, we will do everything in our power to keep that animal safe, healthy & happy for the rest of its life.
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We love animals, and quite frankly, we need to team up with other people who also care about what happens to these beautiful creatures. The good news is that it doesn’t take much to make a big difference.​When you make a donation, you help a donkey recover emotionally and physically from its past.
You are restoring their belief in humans as caregivers. Your impact even makes it possible to re-home donkeys to carefully-screened adopters, which enables us to bring more of these precious animals into our care system. Again, we’re not special, but our team consists of caring employees, volunteers, veterinarians, and farriers – all with a singular objective: to help donkeys recover physically, mentally, and emotionally. Every person on-site is committed to hands-on interaction with our donkeys, every day.Loving them. Calming them. Healing them. We want to show them that humans can be good. Can you save a donkey’s life today or can you share this message?
Thank you so much for caring.