An animal sanctuary in Co Donegal have gone to extreme lengths to let the public know they are back open – by building the world’s biggest donkey!
Scaffolders have spent the past seven weeks erecting a steel donkey which measures a staggering 60 feet high by 30 feet long.
Hector, as he has been named, can be seen for miles around outside its new home at the Donegal Donkey Sanctuary in Raphoe.
The sanctuary, which is run by animal-lover Danny Curran, looks after 97 unwanted or neglected donkeys and never turns away an animal.
Like many charities and community groups, Danny and wife Sandra were forced to close the doors of their beloved sanctuary when the Covid pandemic struck.
Tomorrow (Sat) will see the sanctuary open to the public for the first time in two and a half years and Hector was built especially for the occasion.
Danny and Hector! Pic by Northwest Newspix
Danny admits there were times he thought they might never reopen as funds dried up.
On a trip to England, Danny saw a much smaller scaffolding sculpture of a dog but thought a much larger donkey might just spark the public’s imagination.
“It was just a bit of fun but it has turned out really well. The centre will reopen on Saturday and we hope plenty of people come through the doors. Like many other places we depend upon public support to survive.
“Hector will stay up for the foreseeable future and we hope it adds to the fun about the place.
“It has been a tough couple of years but we have managed to get through it.
“We love all the donkeys and we never turn away an animal but we also need to make sure we have the funds to feed and look after them,” said Danny.
The sculpture was named after a miniature dog named Hector which is a resident at the sanctuary and a picture of which was used to make a digital reproduction for the scaffolding plans.
Local scaffolder Michael Kelly from Raphoe and his team have spent the past seven weeks working tirelessly on bringing Hector to life.
Lights have also been added to Hector which means at night he will be seen for miles around – and probably space!
