Waikoloa Nightingale Adoptions Take to the Skies

Dr. Brady Bergin & Inga Gibson
Kona Airport, Plane in Background
Michael O'Brien photo

Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue now has 119 of our Waikoloa Nightingale;  they saw their first California sunrise Saturday morning! They are probably over their jet lag already, but I don't know if Dr. Brady Bergin is over his, after organizing and working the all-day effort to load the donkeys and caravan with them to the, and his lovely night spent at LAX awaiting his early morning flight back to the Island. 

The Big Island Video news was taped at the airport. Outstanding Job!

http://www.bigislandvideonews.com/2011/09/17/video-over-100-waikoloa-donkeys-board-plane-for-california/

Hawaii News Now's report is their 5 PM version, so it has excellent footage and interviews of the clinic a few weeks ago, and an update. 

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/15484645/yes-its-true-donkeys-fly

KITV report that shows the flight taking off late yesterday afternoon.

http://www.kitv.com/video/29215326/detail.html

None of this would be possible without 

• Generous major donors especially Ugo Sap, who owns Eagle Eye Sanctuary Foundation for donkeys in Northern California, plus Wendy McCaw Foundation, the Pettus Crowe Foundation, and the West Hawaii Humane Society. 
• The Humane Society of the United States (especially Inga Gibson and Keith Dane) whose national team found the donors and created a fund just for our donkeys. 
Dr. Brady Bergin of Waimea, who organized EVERYTHING and donated all his professional expertise and services.



Mark and Amy Meyers of Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue and Dr. Brady Bergin of 

Waimea. Photo courtesy Randy C. Horne.

• Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue, Mark and Amy Meyers.
Several people who fostered donkeys to make them more "adoptable" by newbies, including CB Horse Rescue and Gena Almaden. 
At least 50, hands-on volunteers, who have donated work, time, and gas and on-going use of their trailers.
Our rancher Stanley Bothello.
Tiffany Bergin (Dr. Bergin's wife) who has managed to have a baby (now 18 months!) and support this effort magnificently, both herself, and by giving us so much of Dr. Bergin's time. 
Dr. Bergin's entire staff, the "Donkey Coordinator," Liz Hendricks who volunteers directly for for Dr Bergin. 
Several local merchants who have given us discounts and free support (food!), including Les at Waikoloa Village Market, Solimene's Restaurant in Waimea, and Donkey Balls candy, Hawaiian Quilt Shop thanks to Mele Waikiki, and Hilo'sTanya Kearns of ManilaExtract.
All the people I left out!
More than 200 adoptions on our Island. (Just heard from a new "parent" yesterday)
Equine 808 which is now re-homing donkeys on Oahu!
And all the adopters in Hawaii that will still come forward, as there are plenty more donkeys to find new homes. And we sure need someone to help with creating a sanctuary right here. We've barely begun to work on that.

State Senator Clayton Hee Video Interview

Just watch:
http://www.bigislandvideonews.com/2011/09/01/video-volunteers-power-waikoloa-donkey-clinic/

Senator Hee eloquently explains the clinic is the "embodiment of a way of life", an all-volunteer effort of people helping donkeys originally brought here to be hard-working animals for a variety of work, especially in the Kona coffee industry. No tax-payer money has been spent on this on-going, successful project.

Ginger Towne, West Hawaii Humane Society
with Senator Clayton Hee

Senator Hee, participated in the entire clinic, as well as attending our Waikoloa Talk Story the night before, about an hour off his plane from Oahu!  He is an expert horseman and who grew up in Kona on coffee plantations and speaks directly to why we must care for our donkeys.

Dr. Bergin also explains and shows more what happened "in the chute", which was not part of the first video.

Again, thanks to Big Island Video News comes through great viewing and excellent interviews.

Big Island Video News is broadcast on Na Leo Hawaii, channels 53 and 54, Monday through Friday. Set up your recorder now!

Monday through Thursday, 5 pm and 9:30 pm,channel 53

10 minute daily news.

Friday, 5 pm, channel 54 and 9:30, channel 53, 

30 minute weekly wrap up.

Video of Donkey Clinic at Waiki'i Ranch August 27 - 28

Nothing I could tell you about the clinic would be a bit better than asking you to watch this Big Island Video News report. It takes less than 5 minutes, and every second is action packed, in living color, and loaded with information.  Remember, everything you see is done to veterinary equine protocol of the highest standards and the jacks are anesthetized. There is a reason for everything, to protect the donkeys and the people helping them.

http://tinyurl.com/BI-Video-News-Donkey-Clinic

The Waikoloa talk story about donkeys last Friday at the Church was very well attended and we had many special guests. Up front, in addition to the usual cast, we had the four veterinary volunteers from Salinas, California, plus State Senator Clayton Hee. In the audience, were folks who had adopted donkeys and talked of their experiences. 

Senator Hee rode tall in the saddle in the clinic on Saturday and Sunday and was a big help. I was privileged to be at the clinic, watch from outside the fence, and meet all the volunteers. Another Friend of the Waikoloa Nightingales joined me and got to talk story with people from all the Islands, including paniolo on horses and utility vehicles. Horse trailers and trucks galore. Wow, so impressive. 

New! Waikoloa Nightingale Tote Bag Supports HSUS Waikoloa Donkey Fund

Nightingale Tote Bag

A Hilo friend of Malama Waikoloa Nightingales, Tanya Kearns, has been successfully selling these well made totes on her Etsy "Manila Extract" store. (http://www.etsy.com/shop/ManilaExtract). (Click the Nightingale Tote Bag caption to go directly to the tote.)

10% of the proceeds from the sales go to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) Waikoloa Donkey Fund. That fund pays for medical supplies and other necessities for Dr. Brady Bergin to continue to provide his professional services  to the Waikoloa Donkeys that are being re-homed (adopted), with all males castrated. Without that financial support for supplies, he could not continue his work.

I've drawn compliments from all over, carrying mine around. It's perfect for holding all the stuff one might need for a meeting or a trip to the beach or while out shopping. These are finely crafted bags, neatly finished  in and out.

Manila Extract also donated clutch bags, good for holding essentials and small items to put in the gifts for the Mainland volunteers coming for the donkey clinic. You can see a similar one here http://www.etsy.com/listing/61340775/island-fresh-kona-coffee-clutch-for-fall.

Waikoloa Talk Story August 26th, 6:30, at Community Church

Talk Story about Waikoloa Donkeys

Friday August 26th at 6:30 – 7:30 PM

Waikoloa Community Church Fellowship Hall

Paniolo Ave., across from Waikoloa School

Malama Waikoloa Nightingales is hosting a Community Talk Story to review the latest developments with our Waikoloa feral donkeys. All Waikoloans are invited and encouraged to participate. 


The leaders of humane efforts to re-home Waikoloa Donkeys are Brady Bergin, Waimea veterinarian, plus Inga Gibson and Keith Dane of the United States Humane Society (USHS). They will review accomplishments and explain the immediately upcoming clinic to examine over 100 captured Waikoloa Nightingale donkeys, castrating the jacks, and readying them for re-homing (adoption).  


USHS Medical Associates veterinarian clinic volunteers from the Mainland will also be on hand for information sharing. Other recent developments, local adoption activities, and the plan to safely fly about 100 donkeys to a renowned donkey rescue in Southern California, in September will be highlighted. This means the vets and their assistants will be creating thorough documentation and "chipping" of individual donkeys so some may be shipped out-of-state.


Community questions and concerns about these volunteer efforts will be addressed, in a Q&A session.


For more information email waikoloanightingale@gmail.com"

New! How Waikoloa Village Can Help Support the Donkeys!

We have a wonderful opportunity to malama the Waikoloa Nightingales from our homes here in Waikoloa. No need to adopt, send large donations, donate or provide vast acreage,

We need individuals to donate food and drinks for lunch for the USHS-assisted donkey clinic on August Saturday, August 27 and Monday, August 29th. Click How to Help Page for all the details! There also a link to it near the upper right corner of this page. A driver and a few other things are useful! If you can't click the link, email waikoloanightingale@gmail.com for details. I can call you back if you include your phone number in your email.

Donkeys can Fly!

Thanks to Keahi Tucker for that line on KHNL News! The news video is in upper right corner. Teri Okita's well written story is printed, also. She did some wonderful telephone interviews.

We are almost ready to begin sending some of the Waikoloa Nightingales to a new home at a premier rescue facility, Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue, in California. Eager adopters are being lined up there, already. They will all be allowed to live out their full lives.

Transportation of the highest quality is to be provided by Pacific Airlift, compliments of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). The donkeys are flying to Southern California the same way a Thoroughbred horse and our finest live Kohala cattle go: with appropriate medical screening and care, a good shower, documentation, a ton of paperwork and under optimal shipping condition. They will be treated like First Class Passengers and will have a smoother trip than most of us do, what with the valet service at departure and arrival, donkey experts flying along with them to monitor them, and free gourmet meals. OK, no gourmet meals, I was making that part up. 

We continue to adopt out donkeys here in Hawai'i, so don't worry about that stopping. And we still have the goal of a donkey preserve so we can manage the herd and control it's growth.

This is thrilling news and a major milestone.