Press

3/2/2010 CONWAY -- Annie LaPensee has always been an ass lover. In fact, she adores the two she has now, Rosie and Belle. "Ever since I was a kid, I wanted a donkey," LaPensee said. Of course we're talking about donkeys; what did you think?

LaPensee said it was that lifelong interest in mules and donkeys that led her to rescue the mother and daughter pair from Michigan and eventually led her to a seat on the board of Save Your Ass Rescue. The nonprofit organization is based out of southern New Hampshire and is New England's only rescue organization devoted to saving asses all over the region. Since its inception in 2007, Save Your Ass has rescued and placed 70 animals from throughout New England, LaPensee said. Some of the animals will be purchased at auction on their way to slaughter, some have been abused and neglected, some simply couldn't be looked after by their former owners any more, said LaPensee. Save Your Ass will seek out animals in need of rescue, but also gets calls from people who can't afford to or can't keep them any longer.

The donkeys and mules (mules are a cross between horses and purebred donkeys) then receive any needed medical attention and are rehabilitated at Save Your Ass' facility in South Acworth, N.H., with the hopes of placing them in appropriate homes. LaPensee said that asses have excellent temperaments and developed their reputations as stubborn and uncooperative animals from the reactions they have when confused or scared. When in that state, asses will tend to freeze up and simply not do anything, LaPensee said, where a horse, for example, when scared or confused will simply run off. "(Mules and donkeys) are really calm, they love attention," LaPensee said. "They can be trained for riding and to pull carts" LaPensee said they also make good pets and even pull guard duty, being known to chase off or kill coyotes who threaten livestock.

LaPensee said that once the animals are healthy, they are relatively easy to take care of, requiring pasture and hay to graze on, water to drink, some type of shelter from the wind and not much else. The name of the rescue organization gets a lot of attention, although not always the kind they'd like, LaPensee said. And yes, she's heard all the jokes. One event in Tewksbury wouldn't allow Save Your Ass to display banners with the organization's name, feeling that it wasn't appropriate. LaPensee doesn't understand some people's aversion to the term, noting that "Equus asinus" is the scientific name for the donkey, and it's a valid English word in the dictionary. In fact, Webster's New World College Dictionary lists "ass," meaning the "vulgar slang" for part of the human anatomy, as the second definition of the word.

The organization is currently trying to solicit donations and raise money for a new truck to haul the trailer used to transport the animals. LaPensee said that the best kind of temperament to have when working with asses is to be patient and gentle. "Horses you tell what to do; mules you negotiate with and donkeys you ask," LaPensee said.

Click on the following link to read a recent article about Save Your Ass Rescue by Maddy Gray:

NickerNews.net

Save Your Ass Longear Rescue

Click on the following link to read a recent article about SYA in the Acworthian paper:

http://acworthian.org/Save_Your_Ass.html

Also check out the article on the Sept 20 show:

http://acworthian.org/Donkey_and_Mule_Show.html

Here is a newspaper clipping of Ashley Moore and her donkey Deets at the SYA show on 20th of September.

Save Your Ass Longear Rescue

Second Chance Animal Rescue honors Jasse

By Jessica Arriens Record Staff Published: Thursday, December 04, 2008

WALPOLE — Most people just send flowers. Robert J. Harrick-Hall had a different idea.

He wanted a way to pay tribute to his friend, Bob Jasse, the 79-year-old founder and owner of Alyson's Orchard, who died of pulmonary fibrosis earlier this month. Jasse was his best friend, Harrick-Hall said, a grandfather and father rolled into one.

So the Westmoreland resident founded Second Chance Animal Rescue in honor of Jasse, and plans to use the nonprofit group to help support animal rescue efforts throughout the region. The group's name is appropriate, Harrick-Hall said, "because Bob was known for giving people a second chance." Jasse was also an animal lover, he said, and the duo had been planning to help with animal rescue efforts in the region.

Harrick-Hall said he hopes to use Second Chance to assist with things like spaying and neutering feral animals and helping other local animal rescue groups. Second Chance — which was founded and started fundraising within a week after Jasse died — has already done the latter, making a donation to Save Your Ass Longear Rescue, a donkey rescue group co-founded by Acworth resident Ann W. Firestone. The donation was an incredible gift and extremely generous, Firestone said, especially because the rescue group could really use the help — buying hay for the upcoming winter, mending fences, and building a new shed to house rescued donkeys.

And as for founding an animal rescue nonprofit as a tribute to a friend? "It's brilliant," Firestone said.

Harrick-Hall, who moved to Westmoreland five years ago, first met Jasse at L.A. Burdick's, the Walpole restaurant where Harrick-Hall works as the bartender. Harrick-Hall married his wife (and currently the only co-worker at Second Chance) Sandra L. Hall-Harrick at Alyson's Orchard. The couple celebrated their one-year anniversary just last month at the Jasses' home.

Jasse touched people in all walks of life, Harrick-Hall said, pointing to the more than 300 people who attended Jasse's memorial service at Alyson's Orchard. "He inspires this kind of giving in other people."

For more information on Second Chance Animal Rescue, e-mail Harrick-Hall at thehealingbox@yahoo.com, or write to Second Chance Animal Rescue, P.O. Box 1132, Walpole N.H. 03608.

Ann Firestone Monadnock Profile: Acworth Woman is a Donkey Diva
by Jessica Arriens. Sentinel Staff

Prancing on her spindly legs, her coat a soft creamy grey, Windy is adorable enough to be the month of August on a cute-animal calendar. Barely a week old, the baby donkey sticks close to her mother, Kitty. But a streak of curiosity runs too strong and deep to keep her close for long.

Ann W. Firestone, who may well be called Windy's other mother, sighs with delight as the donkey runs around her pen. Since she bought her first donkey 18 years ago, Firestone has fallen in love with these animals. Around a year and a half ago, she channeled that passion into the nonprofit donkey rescue organization Save Your Ass Longear Rescue.

Firestone houses five rescue donkeys on her Acworth farm. She also has two mammoth donkeys — at least 56 inches tall and big enough to ride — and a mule of her own. The group was created after Firestone connected with two other mammoth-donkey owners online. "The three of us just figured we could do more and help more donkeys if we pooled our resources," said Gail M. Lever, co-founder of the group from Princeton, Mass.

The group eventually grew to five members, who take calls from people interested in adopting donkeys or owners who have donkeys to surrender. They save donkeys sent to slaughter, screen potential adoptees and nurse neglected donkeys back to health. They all have full-time jobs, are not paid for their time, and squeeze in volunteer hours whenever they can. Firestone is president of the group. "But this is my passion," Firestone said. She also works part-time as a veterinary technician, and runs her own in-home obedience training business, DogSense. "This is what I love to do."

It is a passion that began when Firestone got her first donkey, Lula, from the Friendly Farm in Dublin in 1990. "She just sort of showed up with it in the back of the truck," said her husband, Jeff S. Firestone. By that time, the couple already had dozens of dogs, cats and birds. "One more to add to the herd," he said. Lula led to Ann Firestone researching donkeys, then stumbling across mammoth breeds, and deciding she had to have one. Along the way, she connected with other donkey owners and rescuers in the area, including the women who eventually formed Save Your Ass. "It seems to have developed into her thing," Jeff Firestone said.

Maybe it's what he calls the "mother thing" that prevents Ann Firestone from stopping at one pet. In addition to the donkeys, the couple — who have been married for 23 years — own 21 pets. Her plethora of pets and love for animals were in place long before the two were married. "She says there's always room for one more," Jeff Firestone said.

For Ann Firestone, the dogs, cats and birds in the house are simply "occupational hazards" of working with animals. It's just too hard to say no when an animal is in need. So as she learned about how great the need was for a donkey rescue group in the Northeast, there was only one logical thing to do: start helping them.

"There are a lot more donkeys out there than people realize," Lever said. "Many of them are not in great condition." Donkey rescue is a task made easier by the donkeys' personalities, which are completely opposite from their rude repute, Firestone said. "Their reputation of stubbornness comes from the fact that they're very careful," she said. "You can't beat a donkey into submission." But once you earn their trust, donkeys are laid-back, friendly and loving, she said. Firestone pointed to one of her rescues with a rich brown coat, Ida Mae, who pushed her nose against visitors, searching for treats with her inquisitive eyes and braying when Firestone called, clearly happy to see her caregiver. "They just want to be with you, they want you to pet them."

Donkeys are what Firestone calls "easy keepers," and their number-one concern is companionship, a requirement she is happy to fill. She spends about half the day feeding, brushing, cleaning, and sometimes just hanging out with the donkeys. "They're sweet, they're dear, they're loyal," she said, watching the animals graze in her backyard.

Save Your Ass is the only donkey rescue group in the Northeast "that we know of," Lever said. The closest rescue organizations are in Michigan and Florida. Despite the passion Firestone brings, running Save Your Ass isn't easy. Though they've had a steady stream of adoptions, the current economic situation has forced more people to surrender donkeys. "I'm worried that when winter comes we'll get calls to take more (donkeys)" she said. Rising hay and fuel prices strain the group, especially since it depends entirely on donations. "All the money we get literally goes right back into the donkeys," Firestone said.

They charge $450 per adoption — far below what the group actually pays per donkey, Ann Firestone said, especially when those donkeys are bought for "meat price" at auctions. Combined with medical care and travel, rescuing donkeys can cost well over $500. Ann hopes to expand the group, secure more donations, and maybe even find some volunteers, other than her husband and some helpful neighbors.

Until then, she is content to begin and end her days in her backyard, listening to the brays of her donkeys. "I just love 'em," she said. "They're so worthy of the care. I'm so thankful that I'm able to spend the time that I do."

Jessica Arriens can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1433, or jarriens@keenesentinel.com.

contact@saveyourassrescue.org