DON’T give up little donkey, Satur Mill’s in sight.
An injured baby donkey is recovering after it was abandoned near Middlebie on one of the coldest nights of the year last week.
Linda Thomson was shocked to nd the shivering foal in a hedge outside her Satur Mill donkey sanc- tuary after a night when temperatures had plunged to -2.
She said: “I was shocked to see her, from a distance she looked like a dead animal. I felt physically sick when I realised this was a foal.
“To the person/persons who did this there are no words. Karma will hopefully repay them many times over.”
She rushed to call her vets, Ark Veterinary Centre in Lockerbie.
Linda said: “The foal had a very swollen knee and could not put her leg down. When the vet arrived and examined her, she found a very large abscess on her coronary band – top of hoof – also her knee was very painful as well as swollen.”
A tetanus injection, anti-in am- matory injection and a score of anti- biotic injections, costing more than £200, were needed to help save the three-month-old foal.
The little donkey has been named Cosette, after the adopted daugh- ter in Les Miserables, and luck- ily Linda has helped pair her up with another older donkey, who is suffering a broken heart after she lost her own foal.
Linda said: “She stepped up to the mark and took Cosette under her hoof.
“The new mum is called Joy. It is heart-warming to see Joy at rst not wanting Cosette, to slowly allowing her near her. It’s touching beyond words.”
She added: “The future of Cosette is safe, she is here with her new mum and if she ever goes anywhere the home will be vetted and a con- tract made with the owners that she will always have to come back here if anything went wrong or they had to part with her.
“No donkey leaves here on their own, they go as a pair. Donkeys pair up and form lasting friendships, which if broken causes so much stress on both donkeys. No donkey leaves here on their own, if they are a pair, they stay as a pair.”
Vet Justine Doohey said: “We first attended to the donkey foal on November 28 where it was found to be lame due to an unknown injury causing a swelling of the knee on one of its legs.
“As the circumstances surrounding the foals abandonment are unknown its condition is dif cult to treat as we are not able to tell whether it is a historic injury or not. “
We would urge anybody who is in a similar situation and is struggling to look after or care for an animal, get in touch with us or the appropri- ate authorities instead of letting the situation get to this point where the animal is suffering.
