Zena was born here at the Sanctuary three weeks ago. Unfortunately she was born prematurely and staff found her curled up in the corner of the stable at about 6.30 am. She was very quiet and not at all well and we soon realised that her back legs were not working properly - she was unable to stand up or walk.

For the first week, staff worked around the clock to help Zena stand up and reach her mum's udder for milk. By helping her to stand was a very good form of physiotherapy to strengthen her legs. Sometimes she wouldn't suckle so staff combined bottle feeding with trying to encourage Zena to latch on to her mum. This physio and feeding regime was needed every two hours for about a week and thankfully turned Zena's life around. Her legs have become strong enough for her to walk and feed for herself.

Here's a video clip of Zena. It starts with her in the first week struggling to walk and thankfully has a happy ending! In the video is Elena Barrio, one of our fantastic vets who helped save her life. Suffice to say, if it had not been for the intervention of our staff, Zena would probably not be with us today.

Zena is in our special 'new arrivals' unit (which is not open to visitors) as she still has further treatments and some more growing up to do. In the next week Zena may need an extension on one of her hind hooves to allow the tendon to come down slowly as she is still not fully weight bearing. We will keep you posted on Zena's progress.

No breeding policy

The Donkey Sanctuary has a no breeding policy and only have foals if a donkey is taken in already pregnant.