GASPORT, N.Y. (WKBW) — Whispering River Rescue in Gasport started as an idea. Four months later, the farm animal rescue was up and running. Now, three weeks later, they've taken in the most donkeys yet.
"It melts your heart. You fall in love with the animals. We're a rescue so these animals will only be here shortly. It's a transition for them," Brian Markovich, constructor and trustee of Whispering River Rescue, said.
7 Eyewitness News showed you Whispering River Rescue on Christmas Eve, and in just three weeks, the rescue has grown.
"We got donkeys. Lots of donkeys. We got turkeys and we got pheasants. We got ducks," Markovich said.
"But without our donations and our Facebook followers and all the viewers from Channel 7, we couldn't have made it possible at all," Julie Smith, Whispering River Rescue's treasurer, said.
The rescue has now taken in 11 donkeys from kill pens. They have 14 more on the way.
"So we're asking for volunteers just to come in if you want to sing to them or read them a book or just stand next to them, just so they can have human contact. Even if they don't let them touch you yet, eventually they will," Smith said.
With the volunteers help, they're planning to extend the barn and build more facilities to take in even more animals.
"The future is to bring in and adopt out more animals. Not just donkeys but goats and chickens and horses and everything else," Smith said.
To visit, volunteer or donate to Whispering River Rescue, click here.
