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Blue Moon Sanctuary Who we are. what we do.

Welcome to Blue Moon Sanctuary! We are a 501(c) (3) Non-Profit and here's a little bit about what we do...... located in Central Texas, we provide a home currently to donkeys, horses, miniature horses, pigs, cats, and a dog. The majority of our animals were rescued from slaughter. We lovingly refer to all of our animals as "Moon Beams." ...be sure to keep scrolling down through the entire page to see all the cuteness!

Our MISSION is to rescue and rehabilitate animals in need and, through those animals, to enhance the emotional well-being of humans.

Our VISION is of a place of compassion, connection, and healing for animals and humans.

Our VALUES we respect all living things. We believe compassion changes lives. We promote the healing power of animals. We believe in a place where all have a chance to become their best selves. We honor the trust of our supporters through high standards of care and responsible financial management.

Our donkeys have all been rescued from kill pens except for the babies that have been born at Blue Moon Sanctuary. Thankfully, they will never have to experience the mistreatment or neglect that their mamas faced. At the Sanctuary, all of the animals are surrounded with so much love & care because of the efforts of Blue Moon Sanctuary, our volunteers, and our donors.

Donkey Fun Fact: Did you know donkeys have excellent memory? They are capable of remembering a place they have been to or other donkeys they met 25 years ago!

Blue Moon is run on donations and volunteers and every little bit donated helps to care for the animals. We hold various events to help raise money for the Sanctuary throughout the year such as community yard sales, sanctuary tours, essential oil health classes, and other local events. If you are interested in learning more about our events send your name and contact info to bluemoonanimalsanctuary@ gmail.com

Meet the animals.....

This is Junebug, a miniature horse who was born at the Sanctuary in June 2018 to mama Genevieve. She is a gentle and kind soul with a dash of sass. In fact, she has figured out that if she follows some of the volunteers and bats her mini-pony eyelashes she can get an extra nibble of feed!
This is Ruby. She is the very first donkey that was rescued by Blue Moon Sanctuary. We rescued Ruby in September of 2016 and she surprised us with baby Pearl who was born at the sanctuary in July of 2017. You can see a picture of Pearl by scrolling up to find the background photo of a donkey with 5 yellow flowers in her hair (which some of her favorite volunteers dressed her up with). Both Ruby & Pearl are sweet sweet girls and love attention....and food!
This is Daquiri. She was adopted from a shelter by Blue Moon. She has no eyes but that doesn’t stop her from getting cuddles! She gets lots of love at Blue Moon along with her two other blind sisters Julep & Mimosa, the three legged cat named Mr. Wobble-Wobble, and Noodle….the young male cat with no tail, whose bladder was damaged when hit by a car. Sweet kitties.
Here are three of our horses: Champagne (in the foreground), Paloma (middle), and Abby (background). Champagne is one of the male full-sized horses at Blue Moon. He is a bit bossy and loves attention but so cute. Paloma is new(er) to the Sanctuary and loves cuddles and scratches. Abby has been around for a while and being around people isn't her favorite activity (unless there is food of course).
This is Ember, one of our baby donkeys. She was born at the Sanctuary on Valentines Day 2019 (so her middle name is Rose). Her mama is Eleanor (pictured in the background) who was rescued in Summer of 2018. Ember truly loves to be around people and loves scratches even more! At a couple weeks old she already started budding teeth and eating hay like mama!
This is Tippy, a miniature horse who has lost an eye from an injury. She can't see well out of her other eye so she tends to hang back during feeding time and waits for her own pile of food. She has become trusting of the volunteers and lets a few of them pet her for a quick minute. She knows she is well loved and cared for and we are so glad we have her!
This is Lucy, she has the most gorgeous donkey ears (don't they look good with the yellow bow?). Lucy arrived at the Sanctuary very scared and timid and wouldn't let anyone pet her. After several months of being gently coaxed she now enjoys being scratched, pet, cuddled and dressed up by the volunteers. She now even comes up to people ready to be loved! Her friend, Nancy, is the white and gray donkey resting up against her. Nancy is a sweetie pie too!….Lucy arrived in a group of 10 in 2018 (with ungelded males) and has since had a baby at Blue Moon named Winona (everybody calls her Nona). Nona is a ball of fluffy sunshine who lovingly greets every visitor she sees!

Donkey Fun Fact: A donkey is capable of hearing another donkey from a distance of 60 miles in proper desert conditions. This is possible because of their large ears!

So what exactly is required to run a Rescue Sanctuary? Well, for starters, spending about $300 on feed every week and over $300 in hay every week to care for all 100+ animals. Then we have to provide any medicines, vet visits, and special supplements. All of this is in addition to the cost of actually RESCUING the animals (transportation fees + fees to rescue). Currently our largest needs are funds for new safe fencing to keep the animals safely in their pastures as well as funds for shelters. Donkey's do not like to be wet (in fact it's not good for their coats) but we need more barns/structures to provide shelter for them all. So, special donations for structures and fencing are always greatly appreciated and much needed!

Meet some of our volunteers...

Meet Anna, Operator and Founder of Blue Moon Sanctuary, pictured with Ruby the donkey…Blue Moon’s first rescued donkey.
Meet Ashley (pictured with Faith) and her grandmother Tina (pictured with baby Nova), both are wonderful volunteers who love all the animals. Ashley has been working with Faith and training her. Baby Nova always loves cuddles.
Meet Robin....She is an animal lover but has an extra big spot in her heart for donkeys! She enjoys every minute of caring for them and loving on them. Here she is pictured with Eleanor the day before she gave birth to Ember.
Meet Melanie (Robin's oldest daughter). Melanie loves feeding and caring for the animals. She has enjoyed bonding with them and helping them learn to trust. She has a few favorites but loves them ALL deeply. She takes great photos too...the animals love posing for her! Here she is pictured with Smokey.
Meet Ashley (Robin's youngest daughter). Ashley enjoys getting to know each of the animal's personalities and especially enjoys watching the babies grow! She is a wonderful helper and has learned a lot about the animals as well as FROM the animals! She loves them all! Here she is pictured with Paloma.
Meet Monica (pictured with Trooper) and Randy (pictured with Zelda). They are such a help at Blue Moon and are EXTRA wonderful at caring for Trooper the dog, who was rescued from Afghanistan by Blue Moon.
Meet Jennifer (pictured with Moon), Doug (pictured with Franklin), and the beautiful Charli, who is forever in our hearts (pictured with baby Clara). All the Moonbeams have received more love from this family than we can put into words. Blue Moon has the best group of volunteers ever!

More Donkey Fun Facts: Just like chimps and monkeys, donkeys in a herd will groom each other to keep themselves clean.

Donkeys can be well-trained, however, it requires quite some patience. Actions or words that will help them to realize that humans mean to protect them will actually earn their trust and eventually, they will lend themselves to training.

Donkeys enjoy rolling on the ground. This is in fact their best pastime. It also helps to keep parasites away and help shed off their winter coat.

Donkeys and horses are often crossbred. The baby of a female horse and a male donkey is known as Mule. Mules are sterile.

The baby of a male horse and a female donkey is known as Hinny (plural: Hinnies).

There are three different types of donkeys based on their height measured at shoulder level. The smallest type is known as Miniature donkey. These miniature breed of donkeys don’t go past the height of 36 inches. The medium type is the Standard breed measuring 36-54 inches and the largest type is the Mammoth breed that measures more than 54 inches.

Donkeys get depressed very easily when left alone. That is the reason why they live in herds. In absence of other donkeys, they will need some other companions like goats or humans.

International Donkeys: China has the highest number of donkeys in the entire world. In Britain, donkeys need to have a passport!

We hope you loved learning about our animals and we hope they brought you joy and reminded you of the beauty all around you! Check back here often for updates and feel free to follow our FaceBook Page.

To all of our previous and current donors, we want to say a big THANK YOU! Because of you and your support, the Moon Beams are taken care of!