Meet Yaya

Yaya's Story

If you've ever visited our sanctuary, chances are you’ve already met Yaya — or rather, Yaya has met you. This hilarious, people-loving donkey is one of the friendliest (and funniest) residents we have.

Yaya came to us thanks to a kind-hearted Italian woman who had raised her and her mother in a peaceful pasture. When she could no longer care for them, she reached out to us with one request: to give them the life they deserved. And so, Yaya joined our sanctuary family.

From the moment she arrived, Yaya made it clear she was meant to be the star of the show.

She now free-roams the entire farm, making friends with humans, horses, and whoever else is lucky enough to cross her path. She adores attention and will happily follow you around, then back up right into you demanding her favorite thing in the world: butt scratches.

Brushing? Yes please. Cuddles? Absolutely. Ignoring her? Not an option.

And when she’s not busy winning hearts, she’s up to her usual antics. One of her favorite hobbies? Unstacking all the horse feed buckets. Every morning and evening, we feed each horse individually and then stack the empty buckets for washing. Yaya considers this a personal challenge and takes great joy in undoing the entire pile—one bucket at a time, like it's her full-time job.

Yaya might be a donkey, but we’re convinced she’s part comedian, part social butterfly, and entirely one-of-a-kind.