Now, Where was I...?

Oh yes, I was going to tell you about a new arrival at PrimRose.

It happened this way. The woman saw a notice on some sort of bulletin board in the ether and it said a lonely donkey was looking for a home. She made contact with a very concerned woman who said the farmer next to her had received a herd of steers and there cowering in the back of the trailer was a bedraggled donkey with deformed feet. The farmer was surprised and far from pleased as he had no desire to be a donkey caretaker. It transpired that this was quite a large donkey who was in decent body weight but whose feet had collapsed and grown freakishly long from years of neglect. The donkey had survived by eating the very rich cattle food but it had taken a toll on his teeth.

Herself put Sheila in touch with the kind neighbour of the farmer and a pickup of the donkey was arranged for the next day. On arrival, it transpired that the farmer had locked the gate to the paddock and gone away for the day. Thus, the poor footsore creature was made to walk a long way around the back and down a rocky hill filled with holes. He was exhausted and in pain when he made it to the trailer. He was in such agony that Sheila, who has seen many sad cases, just hoped and prayed he could make it to the sanctuary.

He did, and was greeted by a bevy of volunteers who descended on him, handfeeding him treats, which were a novelty to him, and combing out some of his long matted coat, whilst allowing him time to look around and take his bearings. He was helped to a paddock with a run-in but as he had never been indoors in any sort of structure, he preferred to lie under a large, shady tree. His food and water was transferred over to him and he tucked into the hay and then lay down for a long rest. An emergency call from the farrier confirmed that his feet were indeed in wretched shape but she does feel he can be made comfortable. He has been named O'Sullivan after the quite wonderful human who facilitated his rescue. She deserves a big thank you for taking time out of her hectic schedule to improve the lot of a throwaway donkey that wasn't even her responsibility. I have researched the concept of karma and I devoutly hope a vast quantity of it is on the way to her.

O'Sullivan is improving daily, especially in his overall outlook on life. He is being pampered and loved by everyone around him and his coat is now free of mats and is the snowy white it should be. His feet have had their first trim and the vet estimates his age as mid-twenties. He is on pain meds for his feet for now but hopefully time will prove to be the best healer and allow him to lead the life he deserves.

Meanwhile, another rescue donkey, Simon, was taken to the sanctuary last week. He comes from a household where the male human detested him so much he threatened to kill him if the woman there didn't get rid of him immediately. Though equally bullied herself, the woman called Sheila and begged her to come and get Simon. Simon is quiet and shy - in no way a being who should provoke rage and hatred from a human, but there you have it. His tail has been broken and no longer works to swish flies away or to express donkey thoughts. Twisting tails and hoisting reluctant donkeys into the trailer is the preferred loading method of some and the results speak for themselves.

There are photos and I will chivvy the woman into posting them - they had to be scanned or scoped or serigraphed or something and so are somewhat harder to get onto the blog.