By 1973 Svendsen was caring for 38 donkeys. In June 1974, she received a phone call from a solicitor who was the Executor of the Estate of the late Miss Violet Philpin who had been running the Helping Hand Animal Welfare League Donkey Sanctuary near Reading, Berkshire. The solicitor explained that Svendsen had been left a legacy of 204 donkeys. At that time advertisements were appearing regularly in UK publications appealing for financial support for Violet Philpin's Donkey Sanctuary to the extent that the name Violet Philpin became very familiar in Britain with the care and welfare of donkeys.