SNIPPET: History says donkeys were first domesticated in Mesopotamia and Egypt between 3000 and 4000 B.C., and were prized as pack animals for their intelligence, patience and sure-footedness and because they survive on less food and protein than horses of similar size. Donkeys can live for 60 years, although few survive beyond 40; a donkey gelding, or jennet, is a useful guard animal for cattle, sheeps or goats, especially against canine marauders. The donkey is actually a relative newcomer to Ireland and there is no record of donkeys being there prior to 1780. Irish donkeys average between 10 and 14 hands and range in colour from black, brown and grey to cream, frosted or spotted white. True horse pinto, horse appaloosa, palomino and buckskin does not occur in donkeys. Like the bog pony, donkey numbers declined after mechanisation of farms, emigration and The Famine. Among those stepping forward to help or advocate for donkeys was Dr. Elisabeth D. SVENDSEN, MBE, who founded The Donkey Sanctuary in England in 1969. The Sanctuary's aim is "to prevent suffering of donkeys worldwide through high quality, professional advice, training and support on donkey welfare." In 1987, she joined forces with an Irish donkey sanctuary in Liscarroll, Co. Cork, and since then the two facilities have taken in more than 11,000 donkeys. The Irish sanctuary was started in the 1920s by Paddy BARRETT's grandfather on his 35-acre farm i! n Liscarroll. Paddy and his father both worked for the Irish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA) before working with donkeys and that devotion to animal rescue still runs in their family. Working with Paddy, who is now the Liscarroll Sanctuary manager, are his wife and daughters. A second farm, not open to the public, was purchased nearby in 1996, adding another 70 acres to the Sanctuary's Irish holdings and providing space for a new veterinary hospital and fields for newly-arrived donkeys and others that need special care. Some 380 donkeys are housed between the two farms and another 640 are in foster homes around the country. Dr. Eamon WALSH, the on-staff vet for the Liscarroll Sanctuary, says the operating facility in the vet hospital is "second to none in the country." High tech testing and screening can be done on site now, so diagnoses are given accurately and quickly. In addition, the Sanctuary has launched school, library and youth education p! rogrammes. Because they are sociable creatures, donkeys seek companionship of their own kind and form strong bonds. Pairs that arrive together are kept together and the staff tries to pair up single donkeys when they arrive at Liscarroll. One Sanctuary resident - a large, timid sheep named Ivy - came in from Co. Wexford with her friends, donkeys Nellie and Tess - and stayed. In the UK and Ireland, permanent sanctuary is now provided to any donkey in need of refuge and, the Sanctuary charter guarantees, "the right of life, regardless of age or health, and the best possible treatment, care and drugs to preserve life to the maximum." Excerpts, "Sure-Footed Survivors," Judy ENRIGHT's article about donkeys, Kerry bog ponies and Irish Draught Horses, w/photos and drawings, Nov-Dec 2005 issue Dublin's "Ireland of the Welcomes" magazine. More information - www.thedonkeysanctuary.ie