I have to be honest, I wasn't going to write a column this week. I've been taking over for our over-worked editor who has bucked the vacation trend around here and taken a well-deserved two weeks off in a row. I didn't want to be inefficient with my time in trying to drum up memories or ideas about a column instead of doing more editor-ish types of tasks.

But here I am because I saw a Facebook post that has warmed my heart. Once again it has to do with A Home For Hooves Farm Sanctuary in Duncan.

If you don't know, they're my favourite for reasons just like the story I'm about to tell you. They genuinely care about these poor discarded and/or injured and/or homeless farm animals and they have been working hard for years to give them a bigger and better space to live out their lives. 

Recently Michelle Singleton and the Home For Hooves crew were able to buy their dream plot of land and have been working hard at preparing it for the animals. 

Slowly but surely the animals are being transferred from the old property to the new one and the non-profit is doing everything they can to stay within budget but give the residents their best lives ever.

I came across a Facebook post from A Home for Hooves on Tuesday that was so sad. Earl the donkey broke his favourite toy. 

"His beloved ball has deflated and he's the saddest donkey you've ever seen without his ball," said the post.

Something about a sad donkey made me a bit sad, too. The photo that went with it also tugged at my heart stings. Poor little fella! 

I learned later that Earl Grey, his full name, came to a Home for Hooves just this summer after his owner passed away and the owner's family wanted to ensure Earl had a safe and forever home. 

Talk about heartbreaking! And now he's broken his ball?

"Earl plays with his ball several times a day and he has spent countless hours chasing after it. If you have a spare exercise ball you'd like to part with (and fill Earl's heart with joy) please send us a DM or email..." concluded the post.

I thought about it several times the night after the Facebook post was made and to my great joy, when I popped open Facebook at work the following day, it was such a great thing to see that the Home for Hooves page was flooded with people wanting to donate their exercise ball or send him a new one! 

Don't worry Earl, you'll get a new one! It wasn't just that though. Earl and his friends will now likely have a stockpile of balls to select from when the next ball inevitable breaks. One supporter joked that they're going to need a ballroom on the property now.

What's more, another supporter suggested a CollieBall, which, from the website, claims to be "the safest biggest and bouncy herding ball in the market" and built to last, so maybe, just maybe, it would be able to withstand the rough-and-tumble kicks and bites of our old friend Earl.

Donations for that ball began to flow in as well, and now it looks like Earl will have a CollieBall to play with, too. 

It made me smile to know that while Singleton and the rest of the crew at A Home for Hooves are diligently working to ensure safe and welcoming spaces for the animals, the community is willing and able to help make sure they also get some extra special joy out of their lives as well. And it's not just that they were ready and willing, it's that they jumped at the opportunity to help within hours of the original post! So cool.

Now, if you ask my daughter, Miss Fluffy Legs the chicken is still the family favourite from the sanctuary. She told me just the other day she really ought to get around to writing to her 'pen' pal one of these days. I didn't have the heart to tell her that letter-writing program was over now but something tells me that if Miss Fluffy Legs received a letter in the mail, she wouldn't mind one bit.

If you have the means to help A Home For Hooves Farm Sanctuary and their 171 resident animals, visit their website at homeforhooves.org and you never know, you may just fall in love with it as much as I have.