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Our family.....

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25 days old and tucking into Mum's food!

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6 Months old and having a little yawn in the sunshine

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Hi Everyone, I'm Max!

I was born on 28th February 2022, here at Portland College.  Maddie is my Mum and I love her very much.  I love my aunties Molly and Maggie as well.

I spend my days playing and sleeping a lot!  Whether I'm stretched out in the sun or just laid out under the trees, don't worry, I'm a growing donkey so I need lots of naps.

I sometimes get a bit boisterous and get told off, usually by my Mum but aunty Molly tells me off as well.  Aunty Maggie is much smaller than me now and if I push my luck with her, she really puts me in my place so if she gives me that look, I back off and find something else to play with!

I get lots of attention from everyone here and I love it!  Over the summer, the college has been much quieter than I have ever known it and I have really missed all of the fuss that I normally get....so I think I might have been a bit naughtier than I should have been!

Being groomed is one of my very favourite things.....so I roll a lot so that I get brushed more!  Even when I'm being naughty, I'm still kind and I really do have good manners when we have visitors in our enclosure.

I am a very sensitive donkey and I know if someone is feeling sad or upset,  I can help them feel better if they give me a chance.

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Maddie showing off her velvety grey nose to the camera with Molly looking on! 

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We are Maddie and Molly.  We were specially selected to come to Portland College to help and support Maggie when her sister Millie, passed away.  She was so very sad and upset until we arrived on the 11th June 2021.

For the first few weeks, we just chatted over the fence until Maggie trusted us enough for us all to live together.  After that, we became a happy little family, doing everything together.

A word from Maddie:
I am the older sister to Molly.  I was born on 26 April, 2013 at Lowe Hill Farm near Leek in Staffordshire.  I am also Max's Mum.

I am very happy at Portland.  I spend my days with our donkey family but love going out on walks with my new human friends.  I especially like being groomed and petted when people come into the enclosure.
I may not be able to speak the language of humans but do I understand what they say to me.  Even when people don't speak, I can sense when they need me and will approach someone if I feel I can help them.

A word from Molly:
I am approximately two years younger than Maddie, being born on 24th May 2015.  I too was born and raised at Lowe Hill Farm.

I am the biggest donkey in our herd but I am a very gentle soul.  I love the attention I get, especially when I'm out walking with my human friends.  I especially like to pop into Reception to say hello and watch how people smile when they see me.
Like the others, I enjoy being groomed...but I like rolling too!  I know that when I'm all dirty, I will get brushed again!

Portland is very different to the farm we came from.  It was very quiet there and we didn't really see many people so we had to get used to seeing lots of people every day.  It took us a little time to adjust to such a busy environment, but now we are happy to go anywhere on the campus.

We have made many human friends so far and hope to keep making lots more.  We can't change the world, but along with Maggie and Max, we can help make people's lives a little brighter if they are willing to allow us to become part of their lives at Portland.

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My name is Maggie, I was born on the 16th March 2003 at Serlby Hall near Bawtry.  I am a Miniature Mediterranean Donkey which makes me very special!  My dear sister Millie was born on the 18th June 2004.  Together, we came to Portland College a couple of years after Millie was born.  We had so many happy years with the people at Portland.  We got taken for lots of walks and petted by everyone we met.  It was a truly wonderful life and we were so happy together!

One terrible day in May 2021, Millie passed away and my heart was broken.  She wasn't just my sister, she was also my best friend and she was gone.  I was all alone and I cried and cried.  People were so kind to me but I was so lonely.  The other animals tried to help but there were no other donkeys that I could talk to.  It felt to me like my world had ended.

What I didn't know was that there were some kind humans who were out looking for some new friends for me.  Just a few short weeks later, which seemed like a lifetime to me, two new donkeys arrived.  They were much, much bigger than me and had shiny white coats that looked so beautiful in the sunshine when they walked into their new paddock.  I didn't care that they looked so very different to me, they were donkeys, they were going to be my new friends!

It took a few weeks for us all to settle in together but by the time we went on holiday at Christmas, we were inseparable.  Maggie, Molly and Maddie, the 3M Portland donkeys!  On the 28th February 2022, Maddie gave birth to Max so now there are four of us in our special little family.

Like any family, we sometimes fall out, but whatever arguments we have, we still love each other!  I will never forget Millie, my wonderful sister.  With the help and support of my new family, I remember only the happy times I had with Millie.  The pain and sadness I felt when she passed away has gone now and I have moved on to a new chapter in my life where I provide comfort and support to those who need me.

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Here are my two new sisters, Molly is the one at the back with her ears up, she also has a bit of pink on her nose. Maddie is the one eating, she is Max's mum. Maddie is the small white donkey with a grey nose.

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Here is me, enjoying my holidays with my sisters Molly and Maggie, we loved watching the sun go down across the hills.

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This last year has been quite adventurous for little old me, from having new sisters to then becoming and auntie !
Max was born on the Morning of the 28th February 2022.
It was as surprise to our human friends, but I remember it so clearly and what a happy time it was.
It started the Sunday night, Maddie was awake and she had a funny rumbly tummy, she had not let anyone know that she was pregnant, but I knew and I kept her calm. Max was born the following morning and he was so small, our human friends found use and they were so very happy of the new arrival and so was we !
Max has grown so fast over the last 6 months and I love
having him around but he can be a little mischievous, so sometimes I have to tell him off!
Max loves to run and jump on us all and all this playing and growing up, makes him sleepy, so you do often find him asleep on the floor, especially on hot sunny days !