TLS Newsletter
June 2026

Hello Dorothea,

We are excited to bring you this month’s Longears Safehouse newsletter. Your interest in our work is essential to our mission, and we are grateful for your ongoing support and commitment.

A Message from our Executive Director

Summer is here, with hot days and occasional rain—hopefully a sign of a strong monsoon season to bring much-needed water. We're halfway through the year and staying busy with events. This newsletter is full of updates on both our recent events and our upcoming activities, as well as ways you can support us in caring for donkeys and mules in New Mexico and the surrounding states. We have up to 10 donkeys on our intake waitlist, so we are trying to figure out how to accommodate them while managing current care needs, including vet visits, hoof trimming, and training. Recently, we took in Barney, a mini donkey gelding, our sixth new intake this year, thanks to a pre-arranged adoption. You can read more about Barney below.

Thank you for supporting the animals in our care.

Dorothea Lotter
Executive Director and Ranch Manager

Meet Barney

Barney (left) with Biggs

Barney, yet another mini donkey gelding, was expected to come to us in early March. This was around the same time as Mr. Biggs, Bert, and Buster, who found a loving home in Edgewood after rehab. Barney was a horse companion who was left alone after his owner's horse died. His owners weren’t ready to surrender him then. Surrendering an animal can be a complex period of emotions for the owners, and we often see children who want to surrender their elderly parents’ animals, only for the parents to change their minds or realize they’re not ready. Farm animals often symbolize a former lifestyle elderly owners cling to, even when they can no longer maintain it. It can be especially difficult when the animal's presence is the last bridge to that former life.

Barney’s owners did eventually surrender him. Their concern for Barney, and their belief that he should not live alone – that he deserved to have friends of his own kind - was stronger than the urge to preserve their own status quo. We know this choice was difficult for them, but we are grateful to them for doing what's best for Barney, just like we will. Barney is now in a foster home in Edgewood, undergoing physical and social rehabilitation. Like many mini donkeys (and donkeys in general!), he was fed what his horse companions ate, and so gained weight from overeating, developing fat pads and potential metabolic issues. His hooves needed trimming, and he lacked vaccinations and proper vet care. However, he arrived with a recent Coggins and health certificate, which we appreciate.

Barney getting some love from his future family

Since arrival, Barney has been dewormed, fed grass hay and barley straw, and had his feet trimmed. His next step is he a veterinary exam, including dental, vaccinations, and blood work, to assess his health and potential need for medication. His rehab also includes socializing with other mini donkeys; he’s already matching well with Biggs, Bert, and Buster, who he will join in Edgewood once treatment is complete. His future adopters generously agreed to "lend" Biggs to stay nearby briefly so Barney can acclimate. The two have already been hitting it off!

Barney (left) is getting lessons in how to play from Biggs

We are deeply grateful to our volunteer Carlye for fostering and preparing minis for adoption. She plans to move to the East Coast later this year, so anyone wishing to surrender a mini should do so soon while Carlye is still available for intake! Thank you for everything you have done, Caryle, and we wish you the best in your upcoming move!

Ways to Donate

Donations are down this year, due to high gas prices and rising costs. Did you know that feed store prices have hit around $30 per 3-string Bermuda bale? We're grateful to our local farmers for selling us Bermuda at $25 per bale and $8 per bale of straw, but with four bales of hay daily and additional straw and hay pellets mixed with senior feed for older animals, costs are high. Luckily, you can support us through two new, low-cost or no-cost options.

We are grateful for everything you give us, whether it's time, money, or attention!

My Giving Circle

We post a lot about My Giving Circle these days on our Facebook page, because it’s a great venue to raise funds. Here’s how it works: My Giving Circle is a nonprofit that distributes grants to other nonprofits based on a voting scheme. We started at rank #3,000 globally and have risen to #525 in 10 days. We need to reach #20 or higher to qualify for North American grants. You can help by voting and increasing our chances. Donations count as votes—$1 equals 1 vote. Every dollar helps our donkeys and mules. Please support us with a donation—any amount makes a difference.

Ride It Forward

The other way to support us is through Ride it Forward, a charity program set up by the online venue StateLineTack.com. Once a charity is accepted into the program, they get their own profile page, and customers can either purchase items from their charity’s wish list as in-kind donations (hint: Right now we could really use more dewormer paste!) or do their own shopping spree. Either way, 10% of the amount they pay will be donated toward the charity. This is a great way to effortlessly support us while you do your own shopping!

Upcoming Events

Here are our next two upcoming summer events. We would love to see you there!

June: Santa Fe Pride Parade

When: June 27th at 10 a.m.

Where: Downtown Santa Fe (near the state capitol)

What: We are honored to be teaming up with the Santa Fe Human Rights Alliance on June 27 at the Santa Fe Pride Parade! We'll be bringing Jackson and Jessie—cheer us on! The parade kicks off at 10 a.m. from the Lamy parking lot near the NM State Capitol, located at Paseo de Peralta and Marcy St. We’ll line up at the front with the donkeys. Volunteers interested in guarding our burros should arrive by 8 a.m.—a separate volunteer newsletter with details will follow. We have handlers, but welcome additional volunteers to march with us in our Longears Safehouse T-shirts or hats.

Jessie and Jackson had so much fun at Camino, they can't wait for Pride!

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Please note that we will not be participating in a 4th of July parade this year - we already have many events to plan, and work to do at the ranch!

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August: Sierra Blanca Burro Bonanza

When: August 22nd at 10:00 AM

Where: The town of Ruidoso

What: Our volunteer Kate has registered to run the 3-mile course with our donkey Abigail on behalf of The Longears Safehouse. She has started training, and we are looking forward to the progress the two of them will be making as a team. The Ruidoso pack burro races will be on August 22, 2026. We may or may not have a booth there to sell merchandise, but we will definitely be there to cheer Kate and Abigail on. We hope you’ll join us!

Best of luck, Kate and Abigail!

Updates from Recent Events

Art in the Park

On May 2nd, we had a booth at Art in the Park in Cerrillos during the Turquoise Trail pack burro races. The booth was (wo)manned by volunteers Kiera, Will, Brittany, Debby, and Dorothea, our executive director. We raised almost $900 between donations and merchandise sales, and we enjoyed seeing many friends and supporters and answering questions from the public. The pack burro race events in New Mexico are getting more popular each year!

Thank you to everyone who stopped by!

Camino de los Burros

On May 10, we participated in the third annual Camino de los Burros in downtown Santa Fe with three of our sanctuary donkeys: Jackson, Jessie, and Pablo. The annual procession commemorates the contributions donkeys have made to the city of Santa Fe over the past centuries. This year, we had live music and a total of 17 donkeys participating. Five of the human participants were TLS adopters who brought 7 TLS graduates with them. It seems to indicate that we’re having a growing presence within the New Mexico donkey community through our adoption program alone!

Camino is a special event for our community

Jackson and Jessie did very well in the parade, even though they had just recently started learning to carry pack saddles. Pablo was still having a few issues crossing white lines and crosswalks near the Plaza, but his handler Debby managed well. We’re grateful to our volunteers Debby, Brittany, Kiera, Will, and the two Barbaras, as well as to Executive Director Dorothea Lotter, who all contributed in one way or the other to make this a fun event! And we’re grateful to Jackie Fleming and her volunteers for all the time and effort they put into organizing and running this wonderful event again.

Thank you for making Camino a successful celebration of our burro friends!

Weekend for the Donkeys and Mules

On June 13 and 14, we had our "Weekend for the Donkeys and Mules". It was our first little fundraiser event directly at our ranch, and we were thrilled to welcome some old friends from the early years of our operation as well as some neighbors and other interested parties. We made around $1,100 in total, which helps with our hay bills. Many thanks to everyone who came, who donated items, and who otherwise helped with ideas, suggestions, planning, and implementing. We're especially grateful to our volunteer Debby for the great work she put into this. We still have many more items for sale, and we're continuing to offer them on Facebook and other online venues. Our online store is a one-stop shop for you to find something you absolutely need and support our work at the same time!

We have plenty of items for everyone in your life, whether human or equine!