Rancho Burro Donkey Sanctuary: Providing a Haven for Donkeys & Mules in Need
- Laura DiMille
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
Rancho Burro Donkey Sanctuary, established in 2016 by Jim and Carlen Eckford, is located in San Luis Obispo on 46 acres, with a barn built specifically to accommodate donkeys and mules who need medical and physical rehabilitation. The new sanctuary offers ample space for the rescued donkeys and mules to roam, graze, exercise, and heal.
The donkeys and mules come from abuse situations. Some have been abandoned, abused, wounded, or in the slaughter pipeline and rescued from kill pens.
The sanctuary provides all medical care as needed, as well as mental and physical rehabilitation with lots of love and patience. Each new arrival receives a full health assessment, including blood tests, dental care, crucial hoof care, and a nutritional plan tailored to each individual.
The focus is on gentle handling and creating a calm environment, allowing the donkeys to heal and learn to trust again as they bond with the caregivers as well as the rest of the bonded herd.
Donkeys and Mules love people, and humor and playfulness are also important in the agenda.
A Healing Space
The heart of our new sanctuary's commitment to healing and education lies in our purpose-built barn. Our barn features a medical room designed to meet our needs, as well as those of veterinarians and the use of the classroom for community education.
This medical space is not just a room; it is a critical refuge where the road to recovery begins for our donkeys and mules who arrive often bearing the invisible scars of neglect. It provides our veterinarians a safe space for examinations, treatment, and dental work, ensuring that every procedure is carried out with the utmost care, comfort, and clinical precision.
Meanwhile, the dedicated classroom transforms compassion into actionable knowledge, allowing us to host educational sessions that inspire our community and foster a lasting commitment to animal welfare.
Our barn is intended to care for wounded and injured donkeys and mules, as it provides a clean environment, in addition to special soft stall floors to help those with damaged hooves, injured, or arthritic joints in need of a safe place to rest.
A Lifetime Home
"The donkeys and mules are not available for adoption as many need specialized care daily. Also, most have been shuffled around and/or suffered trauma, and we choose not to expose them to yet another new and strange situation. They have become a family with the donkeys here and with us, and being the sensitive creatures they are, we do not feel it is right to place them in yet another home."
Private Educational Tours & Differently Enabled Visits
While Rancho Burro is not open to the general public, we feel a deep responsibility to share the profound peace and resilience of our rescued herd. We are honored to offer limited, donation-based private educational tours that provide a truly intimate, guided experience with our donkeys and mules.
A vital, heartfelt part of our mission is dedicated to providing specially tailored differently abled tours, ensuring that everyone, regardless of physical or cognitive ability, has the chance to forge a powerful connection with these gentle animals and experience the healing tranquility of the sanctuary.
Volunteers making a difference at Rancho Burro Donkey Sanctuary
Rancho Burro Donkey Sanctuary is deeply dependent on the dedication of our volunteers, who provide the compassion and daily care essential for the herd's well-being. Their work includes feeding, grooming, and enrichment.
For safety, we require prior Equine experience for hands-on roles, though we also offer many non-equine opportunities to support our mission.
Community Support & Fundraising Events
The life-changing work at Rancho Burro is sustained by community compassion, channeled through our unique and heartfelt fundraising events. Events like our Annual Fundraising Gala, Painting Workshops, and Sanctuary Sound Journeys are vital gatherings that provide crucial funding. This support directly translates into the specialized care and comprehensive rehabilitation needed to ensure a peaceful, loving lifetime home for every donkey and mule we rescue.
How You Can Help
As a dedicated nonprofit organization, Rancho Burro Donkey Sanctuary is powered solely by the compassion and incredible generosity of our supporters, allowing us to fulfill our mission of rescue, rehabilitation, and providing lifelong sanctuary to abused, abandoned, and neglected donkeys and mules.
Whether through crucial financial contributions, thoughtful legacy planning, or heartfelt gifts in kind, every form of donor support is the engine that fuels the sanctuary, making a lasting impact and ensuring we serve more donkeys and mules through rescue, comprehensive rehabilitation, and the promise of a peaceful, lifetime home.
Our mission is to rescue, rehabilitate, and give lifetime homes to abused, abandoned, and neglected donkeys and mules. We strive to create positive change in our community through various initiatives and educational programs sharing the healing and goodness of donkeys.
