Donkeys have long been misunderstood. They are often called stubborn, treated as though they are simply small horses, and separated from the animals they love without recognition of the emotional consequences.
Amber Raleigh and Edj, co-founders of Donkey Dreams Sanctuary, are working to change that.
In this episode of the Better Life for Animals Podcast, Amber and Edj join Cheryl Moss to share what they have learned from caring for nearly 100 wild burros and rescued donkeys at their GFAS-accredited sanctuary in Arizona.
Donkeys Are Not Small Horses
Donkeys and horses have very different physical, behavioral, and nutritional needs. Donkeys are thinkers. When they hesitate, they are not necessarily being stubborn. They are assessing the situation and determining whether it is safe.
Amber and Edj explain that once a donkey’s needs and boundaries are respected, they can become incredibly trusting and cooperative.
What Happens During Wild Burro Roundups
Wild burros face tremendous physical and emotional trauma when they are rounded up and removed from public lands. Unlike horses, donkeys are not naturally built to run long distances. Helicopters, wrangling, confinement, and separation can be especially dangerous for them.
The roundup itself is only the beginning. Burros may be separated from their mates, babies, parents, and other members of their family group. For animals that form such powerful bonds, that loss can be devastating.
The Importance of Keeping Families Together
Donkey Dreams Sanctuary was founded on the belief that bonded donkeys should remain together whenever possible. The sanctuary is home to biological families as well as chosen families formed through friendship and shared experiences.
Amber and Edj have witnessed firsthand how deeply donkeys grieve. Some stop eating or drinking after losing a companion. They share the emotional story of Pete, an older donkey who lost his bonded friend and began giving up. Through patience, companionship, music, and eventually a new friendship with Lila, Pete found a reason to keep going.
Care Built on Trust
Every part of life at Donkey Dreams is designed to help the animals feel safe, cherished, and understood.
Many of the donkeys are seniors or have special needs. Amber, Edj, and their volunteers prepare dozens of specialized meals, administer medications, provide hoof care, and create individualized care plans for each animal.
Rather than forcing the donkeys to comply, they build relationships with them. Many of the sanctuary’s formerly wild burros receive hoof trims and medical treatments without being tied or separated from their families.
Creating a More Natural Life
Amber and Edj describe the donkeys as “wildly domestic.” They depend on humans for food and care, yet they still retain many of their natural instincts and social behaviors.
Their next major goal is to move the donkeys to 40 acres, where they will have more room to roam and live in a setting that more closely reflects their natural environment. This move is an important step toward Donkey Dreams’ larger vision of creating better options for wild burros removed from public lands.
Preparing the Next Generation
Donkey Dreams has also created a paid internship program for young adults interested in animal welfare, hoof care, sanctuary operations, and related careers.
For Amber and Edj, investing in young people is one way to ensure that compassionate, respectful animal care continues long into the future. The program provides hands-on experience while teaching participants that animals deserve to feel valued just as much as the people caring for them.
Sharing Donkey Joy
While Donkey Dreams does not ignore the suffering burros face, Amber and Edj have chosen to lead with what they call “donkey joy.”
Through their stories and social media, they show people the intelligence, playfulness, tenderness, and individuality of donkeys. Their goal is to help people fall in love with these animals and feel inspired to protect them.
Listeners can support Donkey Dreams by joining the Hay Supper Club, sponsoring a donkey, contributing to the sanctuary’s new property, or simply sharing its work with others.
This conversation is a beautiful reminder that when we honor an animal’s sovereignty, respect their relationships, and take the time to earn their trust, everything changes.
98 Donkeys Safe in their New Home
Recently, 98 donkeys made a long trek to a new home. Watch the process.
How we moved 98 donkeys in 8 trips over 6 days = 64 hours of driving.
https://youtube.com/shorts/WgF0XGJdQuI?feature=shared
Donkey Dreams Living their Wild Lifestyle at their new sanctuary
https://youtube.com/shorts/ZsvctCNpe4g?si=f35KHOmlX8h_bpJ_
Be sure to share these videos with others so they can keep the dream alive!
Episode Highlights
[00:00] Introduction
[01:00] Donkey Dreams is GFAS certified
[05:00] The difference between donkeys and horses is huge
[10:00] What happens during a government roundup
[12:30] Donkeys bond with each other and grieve deeply
[17:00] When Lila met Pete… the healing began
[21:30] A day in the life of Donkey Dreams
[26:00] Giving as much love and support as possible
[33:30] Next generation of animal compassion
[36:30] The vision for Donkey Dreams moving forward
[39:00] Here’s how to support Donkey Dreams
About Amber and Edj
Amber Raleigh is a Co-Founder and CEO of Donkey Dreams Sanctuary, a GFAS-accredited 501(c)3 nonprofit in Arizona. Donkey Dreams provides wild burros and rescued donkeys a forever home — a place where they can heal and find happiness, peace, and joy for the rest of their lives, surrounded by their families and friends. The sanctuary specializes in keeping bonded donkeys and donkey families together, rescuing animals at risk of slaughter and those displaced from their homes during government roundups, preserving their wild burro spirit in an environment designed around how they naturally live and love. Powered entirely by volunteers — including Amber and Edj, who donate all of their time — Donkey Dreams operates with little to no administrative overhead, ensuring that every dollar goes directly to the donkeys.
Amber’s path to the sanctuary wasn’t a straight line — it was a calling. When she and her partner Edj first witnessed the heartbreaking reality of government roundups — watching tight-knit donkey families traumatically separated from their homes, their herds broken apart at holding facilities — something in them both shifted permanently. They saw firsthand how deeply these animals bond, how mothers and babies grieve, and how losing family can lead to depression and even death in these extraordinarily social creatures. They knew they couldn’t look away.
That conviction became a lifelong mission: to rescue not just individual donkeys, but entire families — keeping them together forever. When they witnessed the births of Pink and Eli at the rescue where they worked, the dream became urgent. They were determined to make sure that Pink and Eli would never be separated from their moms — and that kind of love and certainty could only be guaranteed in a sanctuary of their own. Within six months, Amber and Edj found their land, opened their gates, and brought their donkey family home to wide open spaces where they could roam, explore, play, and live as close to their wild roots as possible. That moment of overwhelming joy continues to fuel everything they do.
Today, Donkey Dreams is home to 98 residents living as nine donkey families — including over 40 mom and baby pairs who will grow old together, exactly as nature intended.
A passionate advocate for compassionate living, Amber brings her deep love for animals, community, and purposeful connection to everything she does — from the daily care of the herd to building the relationships and resources that keep Donkey Dreams thriving. With more than 30 years of business and leadership experience building mission-driven organizations, she brings both the heart and the expertise to ensure Donkey Dreams endures for every donkey family that needs them.
For Amber, this isn’t just a sanctuary. It’s a promise — to every donkey family that deserves to stay together, forever.
About Edj
Edj grew up in the restaurant world, managing locations up and down the East Coast — but even then, something didn’t fit. He was a vegetarian working as a meat cutter, quietly trying to square his values with his livelihood. The moment that clarified everything came when a national chef demanded he add unsustainably caught swordfish to his menu. Edj refused. The next morning, he turned in his notice.
He went on to lead teams of up to 300 people for a national grocery chain — and it was there, behind the scenes of industrial animal production, that he made the choice to go fully vegan. Over the next 20 years he rose to the regional leadership team, known for programs that put people first. It was also there that he hired a marketing director who was wildly overqualified for the role — a woman named Amber Raleigh — and together they built something remarkable. Then life pulled them in different directions, and they lost touch for ten years.
When they found each other again, everything clicked. They moved to Park City, launched a successful vegan food truck, and began volunteering at a wild Mustang sanctuary. It was there they first fell in love with equines — but when they heard about the plight of the wild burro, they left to be at a donkey rescue dedicated to burros removed from public lands. What they found there changed everything. Wild burros are not simply horses with big ears — they are an entirely different animal, and the management techniques used for horses can actually be life-threatening for them.
It was there they met a trembling pink newborn, just hours old, who walked straight up to Amber and asked for help. Amber stayed up for four days feeding that baby every twenty minutes. Edj watched — and knew exactly where their lives were headed.
Today, Edj is co-founder of Donkey Dreams Sanctuary in Arizona, alongside Amber, home to 98 wild burros across 9 families with over 40 mom and baby pairs. They keep families together, care for animals with special needs, and have pulled donkeys directly from the slaughter pipeline. Today they focus on keeping wild burro families together, forever. He is perhaps best known at the sanctuary as the man who spent two days playing guitar for a heartbroken 29-year-old donkey named Pete until he started eating again. It worked. Pete is now 34 and thriving with his bonded friend, Lila.
https://donkeydreams.org/
facebook.com/donkeydreamssanctuary
https://www.instagram.com/donkey_dreams_sanctuary/
TikTok: @donkeydreams_offical
https://www.youtube.com/@DonkeyDreamsSanctuary
About Cheryl Moss
Cheryl Moss is the host of the Better Life for Animals podcast, where she shares uplifting stories from sanctuaries and highlights the work of vegan activists, ethical consumers, and animal welfare leaders. She is also the founder of the Funding Blueprint for Sanctuaries summit, designed to empower those involved with sanctuaries to create sustainable funding streams.
A passionate advocate for animal welfare, Cheryl is dedicated to ending factory farming and supporting underrepresented sanctuaries.
Beyond podcasting, Cheryl is a banking professional and an accomplished children’s author. A graduate of Main Street Vegan Academy, she recently added Vystopia Transformation to her resume. The Vystopia work, created by psychologist Clare Mann, focuses on the emotional impact many people experience after becoming aware of animal suffering and exploitation. The training offers tools for resilience, communication, and emotional well-being while continuing to advocate for positive change.
Through her books, Gabriel, Cluck, and Pickle the Pig, Cheryl inspires young readers to embrace kindness, sustainability, and compassion for animals.
When not advocating, she enjoys Pilates and spending time with her rescue dogs and grandchildren. Through her work, writing, and activism, Cheryl continues to inspire positive change for animals and the planet.
https://www.facebook.com/BLFAnimals/
https://www.instagram.com/betterlife4animals/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cherylmossabetterlifeforanimals/
