home of wild burro rescue

March 2009

Greetings!
This is an overview of our improvements here at the Wild Burro Rescue. Many projects continue as we work towards our self-sustainability. Your help has made progress possible and your continued support now is needed more than ever.

Our solar pump house is currently under construction, and our next step is to lay down 2000 feet of pipes to irrigate the land. This process includes placing and burying the pipes at least a foot deep in the soil to keep them from getting too hot in the summer time, and to keep them from freezing in the winter time. It is quite challenging to dig that deep due to the abundance of stones in our ground and the fact that they must be removed by hand. Our goal is to clear up the land to begin cultivating a garden of carrots and other vegetables and well as native grasses for our animals. The price of hay has tripled in the past year and it continues to be our greatest expense. Growing our own native grass and vegetables would reduce our cost of hay dramatically, besides being more nutritious for our animals. However, in order to complete this project, we need two water storage tanks with an 8,000 gallon capacity. This is an additional expense we are struggling financially with and we truly need your financial support.

We are also working on our own shelter to protect our animals from wildfires. This consists of a designated area on our property surrounded by two divisions. The first area has a depth of a 100 foot clearance of combustible brush. The area within it consists of irrigated land. At this time, the shelter in place is awaiting the completion of our irrigation system, which we plan to have completed and running by April this year in order to plant our crops. Water is also a key element of the fire shelter.

Another project in the making is the completion of our installation of metal barns. In the wild, the burros can move to places that are protected from the elements. In our sanctuary they cannot leave the corrals to find such a place. This is why the shelters are so important to have. The temperature fluctuates quite a bit, in the summer is between 50 and 110 degrees. In the winter it can go down to 10 and up to 80 degrees and the wind gusts can each up to 100 miles per hour. The metal barns protect them from the wind, rain, snow and sun.

In the pamphlet** you will see pictures of our beautiful baby burros and you may wonder why we have babies here. We would like to make it clear that we rescue pregnant burros and that NO breeding ever takes place at our sanctuary. We practice birth control by separating both males and females and keeping them apart. This method makes the most sense to us financially. Veterinary care is just too costly.

As for our budget, our income solely comes from donations. We receive no government funding and unfortunately, we do not have any financial reserves. We are depending and counting on our friends and supporters to help us succeed with our mission. Often, we are struggling financially. You tax deductible contribution will help us to continue to create a wonderful sanctuary for all our rescued burros, mules, horses, dogs and cats. You help and financial support is crucial and essential. Wild Burro Rescue does not employ professional fund raising companies. They are expensive. We do the fund raising ourselves with the help of volunteers. Therefore, every dollar you donate goes directly to our sanctuary helping the animals.

Our approach follows the life mantra of Buckminster Fuller: "you see what needs to be done and you just do it. Do more with less." We welcome you to visit us. Olancha has many tourist attractions in the surrounding area with beautiful scenery that will leave you breathless and happy!

Best regards,

Diana Chontos
President / founder Wild Burro Rescue

** This letter accompanied a photo pamphlet that we sent out to all the folks on our mailing list. If you would like to be added to our mailing list please contact us at wildburrorescue@gmail.com