This summer we adopted a donkey.

Which sounds like a much bigger life decision than it actually was.

There is, in point of fact, no donkey living at Proclaims Towers.

Well, if the imaginations of my two children are given credence (which is often the most pragmatic way to proceed), we have two new donkeys living with us. And they go by the names of Bramble and Golden Sparkle.

But Bramble and Golden Sparkle are very much of the plush variety of donkey. They are not living, breathing mammals and don’t require an acre of land to live on.

They were purchased at the gift shop of The Donkey Sanctuary. Specifically, The Donkey Sanctuary headquarters in Sidmouth.

We went on holiday near Sidmouth in August, and when looking for places to visit, The Donkey Sanctuary looked like a good place to go.

We didn’t know anything about it in advance, but, being parents to an eight-year-old and a four-year-old, it seemed like exactly the kind of place that would entertain our children for a few hours.

On that score, it delivered and then some.

I had been a little worried that The Donkey Sanctuary might be something of a ‘one-trick…erm…donkey’?

What with there only being donkeys onsite.

My kids really like animals, but normally animal-based attractions have a few different animals on offer.

The Donkey Sanctuary, in all fairness, was never pretending there would be much on offer besides the donkeys.

And really, there wasn’t.

There were a lot of donkeys, but there were only donkeys.

Two days later we went to Longleat, courtesy of some converted Tesco Clubcard vouchers, and a brilliant time was had by all. My kids fed a giraffe and some deer, and we saw loads of animals, including some pretty good views of the headliners. Y’know, the lions, the tigers, the aforementioned giraffes, along with some gorillas, some rhinos and a lot of camels. It was pretty spectacular as days out go.

And when asked on the journey home from our holidays what they had enjoyed the most about their trip away, Little Proclaims was pretty emphatic. It was The Donkey Sanctuary.

Which is factually incorrect. Clearly Longleat was better, and at the prices they charge, it should have been better. But for a place that charges no admission fee and only has one type of animal available, The Donkey Sanctuary was pretty amazing.

Partly, I think the appeal was that it was just really well done. There were plenty of activities to keep the kids engaged and there were a lot of donkeys, so you’d kind of move from one enclosure of donkeys, do an activity and then find yourself looking at more donkeys. There were sufficient activities that you never really ran the risk of donkey fatigue.

Also, the volunteers were so enthusiastic about donkeys that it was all pretty infectious.

And really, when all is said and done, donkeys are great.

You don’t necessarily think donkeys are inherently interesting animals, but they really are.

I learned loads about donkeys that I didn’t know.

Like how donkeys always have friends. Every donkey has a best friend. Usually another donkey, but in the absence of another donkey, they’ll be friends with anything. We heard tales of donkeys who’d been friends with cows, and chickens, and one tale of a donkey who was best friends with a pig, which caused him problems when he moved to The Donkey Sanctuary, because his friend had to come with him, and as a general rule, donkeys don’t like pigs. So there was this one donkey who was friends with a pig and all the other donkeys were really upset because they hated the pig.

And donkeys aren’t indigenous to the UK. But they’ve been here forever because the Romans brought them with them. So we all think donkeys are from here, but really they aren’t. And that’s why donkeys are ubiquitous in stories from all over the world. It’s mainly because the Romans got about a bit and left donkeys wherever they’d been.

And the saying ‘donkey’s years’, which means something taking a long time, is actually because donkeys live a long time and not because they have long ears and someone was having fun with homophones. Which is what I always thought. Actually, I’m disappointed by that one. Not disappointed that donkeys live a long time, just disappointed that it’s not a silly play on words. Because I enjoy a silly play on words.

To be clear, I’m glad donkeys live a long time.

Not least because we’ve adopted one.

A real one.

Called Strawberry.

Strawberry will continue to live at The Donkey Sanctuary. And she’s only seven, so Strawberry will hopefully live for many years to come.

But she’s also part of the Proclaims family.

Because we adopted her.

Now I know full well that these ‘adoption’ schemes are really just a way for charities to get you to commit to a monthly donation. Lots of families will have adopted Strawberry.

But as far as Little Proclaims is concerned, we are Strawberry’s family.

And she loves her donkey.

And that might be why she thinks that The Donkey Sanctuary is better than Longleat.

To be clear, I think the work The Donkey Sanctuary does is fantastic.

But, if you pushed me on the point, there may be other charities I would have supported with a monthly donation ahead of The Donkey Sanctuary.

However, there is a look of joy on Little Proclaims’ face every time she examines the picture of Strawberry we were given as part of the ‘adoption pack’. There is palpable excitement when she looks for Strawberry on The Donkey Sanctuary webcams. For this, and the genuine enthusiasm Little Proclaims now has for learning about donkeys, The Donkey Sanctuary has found a lifelong supporter in me.