PRESIDENT - Ann Firestone Ann has owned and loved long ears for over 20 years. From a young age, Ann knew she wanted to spend her life working with animals. She has been involved with dog rescue, wildlife rehabilitation, and was a vet tech for 35 years. Once in the donkey loop, Ann met other donkey enthusiasts and found that she was not the only one taking in donkeys in need of new homes. "We decided to join forces and put all of our energy together to help as many donkeys and mules possible." Shortly after Save Your Ass Long Ear Rescue was incorporated, Ann realized she wanted to dedicate more of her time to the donkeys and mules. Although she no longer works as a vet tech, she does still operate her own dog training business, DogSense.

Vice President and Secretary - Lisa Michael Lisa Michael has been helping animals all her life. She started riding horses at age 6 and was 'horse crazy' for a long time, but always felt a strong attraction to donkeys and had hoped for a mini donkey some day. After meeting Ann Firestone and her mammoth donkeys it was love at first sight. She realized donkeys can do anything a horse can do and had so many other wonderful qualities. There are no mini donkeys at the Michael Farm (yet) but Lisa currently has one mammoth donkey Bubba, a large standard donkey Azzy and a draft mule Sebastian. The long ears hold a special place in her heart and she doesn't think she would ever get another horse. Lisa works as an animal care provider and her family is complete with husband Ben, son's Kyle and Samuel, five goats, one rabbit, 2 dogs and a bunch of chickens in addition to the long ears. She couldn't be more happy helping the Save Your Ass Rescue and feels blessed to have met such a wonderful group of people because of this organization.

Treasurer - Jean Cornish I have been an animal lover all my life. I've mostly been in the company of dogs & cats, and even a couple of sheep. Recently, because of Ann, I have been introduced to the sweet charms of the donkeys & mules at SYA. In my spare time I assist people with their taxes, have discovered the satisfaction and fun of art classes, and run a small business with my partner selling t-shirts/sweatshirts at dog shows. I am also devoted to our Australian Shepherd and our young Border Collie. As Treasurer of SYA I try to keep the rescue on good financial footing!

Board Member - Terry Lupien Terry Lupien has been a life-long "horse nut". Growing up in Vermont, she had a shetland pony, then a Quarter horse, along with assorted other animals. While raising five children with her husband, Cliff, she exposed them to horses, and was a horse show mom. After the children were grown, she decided it was time to start get re-connected with equines. Reading a want ad for a mule for sale opened the door to a whole new world. Jellybean came to live at their home in Winchendon, MA, soon followed by mini mule Tootsie, a rescue from New Holland auction. As with most good husbands, Cliff volunteered to help out and quickly became drawn into the action as "Bean" claimed him as her own. Next came Melody, a large standard donkey from auction, who has opened yet another door into the world of donkeys. Cliff and Terry help Save Your Ass as needed, and feel very lucky to have met the nicest people through their animals.

Co-founder - Gail Lever One of the original founders of Save Your Ass, Gail Lever has owned, loved and rescued donkeys for almost a decade. She first became enamored of the ass when she rescued a small donkey to be a companion of the horse she had leased and ridden for many years. He was coming to live with Gail for his retirement, and he needed an equine buddy. "I had wanted my own horse all my life, but was not quite ready to buy one at that time. Something made me answer an ad for a small donkey, and once I saw what awful shape he was in, I had to bring him home. That little donkey showed me what calm temperaments, people orientation, intelligence, and humor the longears possess, and I knew it was no longer a horse, but a large donkey I would eventually be getting to ride." Gail now has a saddle mule and five donkeys, including a mammoth that she rides and drives. She has a degree in Animal Science from Cornell University as well as an MBA in Finance. She was instrumental in obtaining the 501(c)(3) status for Save Your Ass Longear Rescue.

Alison Wright Alison was born and brought up in the UK and worked as a Psychiatric Nurse in London, until her move to Dubai - with her husband James - in 2004. An animal lover and pet owner since childhood, she volunteered at the local dog shelter in Dubai and as a result her 'family' seemed to increase in size each month! Alison initially adopted two dogs who'd been in the shelter for three years and over time somehow ended up with seven unwanted/'ugly'/old dogs from the streets of Dubai. When Alison and James moved to the US (New Hampshire) in 2007, there was never any question that the seven dogs wouldn't come along too. Since they've lived in NH, there have been a couple of sad losses from their Dubai canine family and also some more doggy additions, flown over from the Middle East (at one point they had adopted ten shelter dogs). After searching for donkey rescue online, Alison found Ann and SYA and, inevitably, fell in love with nearly all of the longears there. Alison and James will soon be moving to Norwell in Massachusetts, accompanied by their canine kids and also four new additions to the family - adopted from SYA... Jenny (a Belgian mule), Scout (a standard donkey), Egypt ( a mammoth donkey) and Dinah (a miniature donkey). A happy houseful!

Tacey Weir - Board member

Dr. Stephen R. Purdy - Honorary board member. Dr. Steve Purdy received his DVM degree in 1981 from the New York State College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University. He is Associate Professor of Veterinary Education, Director of Camelid Studies, and Director of the Fund for Education and Research in Large Animal Veterinary Medicine, Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He is also the director of the Camelid Reproduction Center at UMass Amherst. Dr. Purdy’s special interests include reproduction, neonatal care, nutrition, and infectious diseases, as well as the preventive medicine aspect of the management of livestock. He is involved in practical research and educational projects that promote improvement of farm animal health, and he emphasizes a hands-on practical approach to caring for livestock, while keeping their environment as stress free and natural as possible. Dr. Purdy is committed to teaching practical large animal subjects to undergraduate and graduate students, and to helping undergraduate students gain admittance to veterinary school in preparation for a career as a large animal veterinarian. Donkeys have been a special interest of his since he first worked on one in 1995. “If you are having a bad day,” he says, “spend some time hanging out with a donkey.”

Dr. Tamara McNamara - Honorary board member. Dr. Tammy McNamara has had a lifelong love of horses and graduated from Oregon State Veterinary College in 2004. She works at VT-NH Veterinary Clinic providing services for both equines and small animals, including the residents at SYA Long Ear Rescue. She has a small farm and enjoys trail riding and gardening. Last spring she added a beloved long ear to her equine family, a mini gelding from SYALER named "Rocky".

WebMistress - Lyndsey Lewis llewis@sover.net