What we do.....
Thera-Pets is an animal assisted visitation program of Butternut Ridge
Farm. It is sponsored by both the Morrisonville Methodist Church,
Morrisonville, NY and the Mount Moriah Presbyterian Church in Port
Henry, NY. Tax deductible contributions may be made to either of
these organizations. Miniature donkeys have been trained to be calm
and accept whatever comes their way. They are introduced to
distractions, such as sudden noise, a person yelling, dish dropping and
so forth. While we try to avoid handing food to them, that is difficult
to adhere to 100% of the time. Therefore, we bring carrots cut in half
and there seems to be enough distance from finger to front teeth that
so far we have avoided "the bite" issue. We do, however, warn staff
and patient alike that getting a bite is a possibility and that it will not
come from anger or protection as with a dog, but rather from the
eagerness to get to the treat. The question always arises, "what if the
donkey.........?" My usual response to nursing homes is, "if my donkey
can put anything on your floor that has not been there before, I will
gladly keep her outside" That usually produces a laugh and an open
door. We show the activity director our "poop" kit & try to impress
with rubber gloves, Lysol, Clorox Spray plastic bags etc. We also bring
a plastic bag lined waste paper basket to catch if that is called for.
Donkeys urinate about once every 6 to 7 hours so that is a pretty safe
percentage, pooping is another statistic entirely. However, with 4 years
of experience and over 500 hours of visitation we have only twice
have anything hit the floor. Once was a yearling gelding on a training
trip and he gave us all ample notice which we either ignored or
misinterpreted. We have started donkeys most of the time and would
be glad to train your donkey for a small fee and even smaller
maintenance fee. Purchasing a well trained donkey makes even better
sense.
Farm. It is sponsored by both the Morrisonville Methodist Church,
Morrisonville, NY and the Mount Moriah Presbyterian Church in Port
Henry, NY. Tax deductible contributions may be made to either of
these organizations. Miniature donkeys have been trained to be calm
and accept whatever comes their way. They are introduced to
distractions, such as sudden noise, a person yelling, dish dropping and
so forth. While we try to avoid handing food to them, that is difficult
to adhere to 100% of the time. Therefore, we bring carrots cut in half
and there seems to be enough distance from finger to front teeth that
so far we have avoided "the bite" issue. We do, however, warn staff
and patient alike that getting a bite is a possibility and that it will not
come from anger or protection as with a dog, but rather from the
eagerness to get to the treat. The question always arises, "what if the
donkey.........?" My usual response to nursing homes is, "if my donkey
can put anything on your floor that has not been there before, I will
gladly keep her outside" That usually produces a laugh and an open
door. We show the activity director our "poop" kit & try to impress
with rubber gloves, Lysol, Clorox Spray plastic bags etc. We also bring
a plastic bag lined waste paper basket to catch if that is called for.
Donkeys urinate about once every 6 to 7 hours so that is a pretty safe
percentage, pooping is another statistic entirely. However, with 4 years
of experience and over 500 hours of visitation we have only twice
have anything hit the floor. Once was a yearling gelding on a training
trip and he gave us all ample notice which we either ignored or
misinterpreted. We have started donkeys most of the time and would
be glad to train your donkey for a small fee and even smaller
maintenance fee. Purchasing a well trained donkey makes even better
sense.
Butternut Ridge Miniature Donkeys
Butternut Ridge Farm's Thera-Pets Program
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