Hopefield Animal Sanctuary: A donkey’s birthday, a sad goodbye to a popular pony and the upcoming Halloween Week

PUBLISHED: 15:56 26 September 2019 | UPDATED: 15:56 26 September 2019

Hayley Anderson

Ernie celebrated his first birthday at the sanctuary. Picture: Anna Marie

Copyright (C) Photography by Anna Marie

The charity's annual Dog Show and Fun Day took place on Sunday, September 15. Picture: Hopefield Animal Sanctuary

It's been a couple of weeks since you last heard from us, and what a busy time it's been!

On Wednesday, September 11, we celebrated Ernie's 1st birthday!

Poppy the Shetland pony, who has been at the sanctuary since 1992, has sadly passed away. Picture: Hopefield Animal Sanctuary

For those of you that weren't following us last year, Regina, Ernie's mum, was rescued in the summer of 2018.

She came to us in an awful condition, after being found wandering the streets of London by a police officer. She was also heavily pregnant, and after suffering a scare when we couldn't hear the foal's heartbeat, along came little baby Ernie in September 2018!

He's grown to be a very affectionate, loving young donkey, who absolutely loves meeting our visitors and having cuddles from our staff and volunteers.

Halloween Week. Picture: Hopefield Animal Sanctuary

On Thursday, September 12, we sadly had to say goodbye to Poppy the Shetland Pony.

Sadly, she became unwell over the weekend and due to her old age and weakness, she just couldn't battle it.

Poppy was purchased by her previous owners to be used for a child to ride, however she would buck off anyone that tried to ride her.

She arrived at Hopefield back in 1992, at the age of 5 years old, after being badly mistreated and beaten.

After a few years of Poppy being with us, we rescued another horse, called Palmer.

He was un-castrated, and before he had his operation, Poppy broke the fence and snuck in!

A short time after, along came Polly-Anna, who is still living here at the sanctuary.

Poppy had a lovely temperament and was a firm favourite with many at Hopefield.

The yard will not be the same without her calling out for her breakfast every morning.

Our annual Dog Show and Fun Day took place on Sunday, September 15.

It was an absolutely wonderful day with so many people turning up to show their support and lots of gorgeous dogs who took part in the show.

We were joined by Guy Gonzo who did a great job of keeping the children (and adults!) entertained, along with inflatables and lots of lovely stalls for people to purchase goodies from.

We know the October half-term is creeping up now, so why not make plans to join us from Monday, October 28 to Sunday, November 3, for Halloween Week at Hopefield!

With our Spooky Barn, Haunted Trail, Mystery Box Challenge and so much for! Come along if you dare...