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.

HSUS Vets are coming! August 26 - 29, 2011

The wonderful news that the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is sending over a team of professionals from their HSUS Medical Associates, donkey experts all, was shared with us recently! August 26th through the 29th are scheduled. They will assist Dr. Brady Bergin, his assistants, and all the local Donkey Heroes in a big castration clinic. They will also do testing of animals that will be shipped out of Hawaii to check for Donkey diseases, and "chipping" of the donkeys with their individual information. (A microchip is implanted just under their skin,  just like pets with loving owners, so they can be identified if found.) Dr. Bergin is talking to the California State Veterinarian to find out all the information requirements that must be met.

Another big need was met earlier, when a generous donor loaned Dr. Bergin use of some near-by land with plenty of food and water to hold the donkeys. Dr. Bergin and his  has already moved 101 Nightingales there. This is the number we currently are going to have homes for in September.

With the miltiple sightings of 100+ Nightingales around the Waikoloa Road 10 mile marker  collecting still more is no problem, They probably aren't the only ones still out there. We'll have to see what's up with a fly over, or simply seeing more. Which does happen. (I love it when you let me know these things, so be sure and just say "Hi! And give me your scoops at waikoloanightingale@gmail.com..)

Update: Where Did All the Donkeys Go?

If you live here, you know, we have had a good amount of rain. This has allowed the Waikoloa Nightingale donkeys to spread out for green grasses and water. (Donkeys get a lot of water from the young grasses.) This has relieved pressure on the donkeys and they are much less of a problem on Waikoloa Road and less of an annoyance in the neighborhoods.

But they are still here, so stay alert. While the Hawaii Police Department reports no calls on donkey sightings on Waikoloa Road in May (yea!), there was a reliable anecdotal report from a tourist that they avoided a donkey right on the road a few days ago.

They are still around the Village but according to my Waikoloa reporters, they are putting less pressure on the neighborhoods. South Kohala Community Policing Officer Denise Smith-Erickson has seen one in a Waikoloa front yard, and was quite amazed. She'd heard a lot about them, but that was her first sighting, right there!

New: Mobile Viewing - Sorta

"Cell Phone Art" by Brett Rogers
(http://www.beatcanvas.com)

When you are on the go with your handy mobile device, checking Malama-Waikoloa-Nightingales.blogspot.com will now give a nice mini-view of this blog . It doesn't show the columns to the right hand side of page with all the link buttons to donate, contact other sites, the mission statement, nor the disclaimers at bottom of page. For complete functionality, best to check us from a web browser on your mobile device. That involves a lot of scrolling but will give full information.

If you experience difficulties with mobile viewing, please email waikoloanightingale@gmail.com to report your problem. This is a beta feature. Let me know what device you are using.