What struck me the most when I met Laurel, Hardy and Tim is their sincere craving for fuss and attention. But then it's expected when these poor creatures have been shut inside a stable for a minimum of six months.
And what surprised me the most is there uncanny affection to one another considering they are all stallions! Stallions normally fight for leadership within a herd, but the sad fact is… these three are too poorly to care.
This blog is a little late as I met them for the first time on Tuesday 28th July at our holding base in Buxton, Derbyshire. First I looked at their long feet - Laurel's being the worst. Chris the manager told me that the state they were in, they could have been left for anything up to a year.
Their skinny bodies brought back memories of terrible scenes I saw in Egypt last October when working donkeys like Soad were brought to our mobile teams for life saving treatments.
Whilst waiting for the vet to arrive, I just spent time sitting with Laurel, Hardy and Tim and that's when I realised how friendly they were and that they just wanted to be loved - I gave them cuddles and scratches and they also cuddled each other.
Very poorly donkeys
I'm afraid their health checks didn't go smoothly. They were the perfect patients of course, and although Laurel was very nervous having his head collar on, he did stand quietly the whole time. But the vet explained the long list of problems they have just from what she could observe at first glance… they have long feet, lice, they're malnourished and she suspects they have internal parasites (worms) which won't have helped. She didn't even want to look in their mouths to see if they'd ever had their teeth looked at as it would be too much.
Joy, one of the Sanctuary's wonderful grooms, brought them some breakfast after the vet had been. She told me she can't wait to start working on them, to make them better. And that's it, they really are safe now. I left Buxton later that day feeling like Laurel, Hardy and Tim were about to start a new way of life.
My next blog will be about their visit from the farrier in the next day or so.
Hi Dawn,
I can't wait to reading good news about our three new friends on your blog ! I watched the video yesterday evening and I would have loooooooooooved so much to be there myself to help give them yet another cuddle and another big hug and yet another friendly scratch. That is such a confort to know that they will now have a good life among their own and will be cared for by loving bipeds ;-) Give them my love and also my "own" Jacinta's kindest regards, from across the Irish Sea!
The Donkey Sanctury is a brilliant place to take the kids. Lots to see and do - I would hightly recomend it.
How sad to read how poorly they are. Hopefully with all the love and care they are going to be given they will eventually return to good health. Still do not understand how anyone could let this happen to animals in their care and ever after the bad way they have been treated are still trusting. Lots of love to them.
It's so good to hear of stories such as this one, especially since Laurel and Hardy now look so healthy and happy. It made my heart ache seeing how wretched they were when you found them, but then I smile when I see them happily grazing a few months on.
There will always be people who are mean and uncaring towards animals, everywhere in the world. But fortunately, there will also always be people like you, who will go to great lengths just to appease a poor animal's suffering. Thank you so much for putting your efforts into such a humane and truly laudible activity. I now know that you are able to intervene in places as remote as the other side of the continent (where I live - Romania) to help donkeys in need, which is really good to know. I just wish I had known of your organisation a few months ago, when I was returning from the seaside (Constanta) to Bucharest, and off the side of the motorway I saw a poor, weakened donkey that could barely stand upright. I really hope that he was one of the donkeys that you rescued when you came to Romania.
Thank you once again, and all the best to you. I hope to be able to visit your sanctuary when I am next in your beautiful country.
Best wishes,
Tudor