Meet Larry the dinosaur, who has travelled from The Donkey Sanctuary in Devon to South Africa in order to be an animal welfare ambassador.
Larry was among the cuddly toys on display at the teddy tombola stand at The Donkey Sanctuary’s Paccombe Farm during its International Donkey Week celebrations in May.
The cute dinosaur caught the eye of one of the distinguished guest speakers giving talks at the event. Morgane James from our South African partner charity, the National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA), took Larry with her when she returned home, and has kept us informed of his progress as an “ambassador for kindness”.
Larry has visited local schools to help educate children about how to improve the welfare of working donkeys in their communities, and he has met several donkeys in person, too.
“Larry is so novel and people can’t help but ask about him,” says Morgane. “And that, of course, opens the door to conversations about where he came from and why. He offers a fun way to engage with people about donkey care and kindness. Opening minds, opening hearts.”
The Donkey Sanctuary has enjoyed a long collaboration with the NSPCA, funding everything from harness-making workshops to training communities in better animal health care. Last year, our partnership directly improved the lives of almost 1,400 donkeys, and upskilled almost 700 donkey owners and handlers.