I received a call at the beginning of November from a Mr Yalladi letting me know that a donkey had fallen down a manhole and the donkey needed help. We immediately set off to find her and after some time searching we found her located in a very quiet area and were amazed that anyone had noticed her at all.

We couldn’t pull the donkey out ourselves so asked for help from people in the street. Eventually we pulled her out and while she was examined, I groomed her to make her feel safe in our hands. She was in a lot of pain and wasn’t able to stand. We also discovered that the donkey was completely blind in both eyes. After trying to get the donkey to stand, we decided to let her rest and put a soft cushion under her head to add some comfort for her.

Mr Yalladi explained that he was riding his bike when he saw the donkey down the manhole. All he could see was the neck of the donkey above ground level. He said he had heard and read the helpline numbers written on walls for donkeys so he set off to search for the number to call. After that he went to look for the donkey’s owner from the nearby brick kilns.

We visited the donkey owner and discovered that her donkey had worked in the brick kilns until she had become blind. After chatting with the owner for some time about how her donkey now needs her help, I was pleased to find that when I visited a week later the donkey was standing by her owner’s front door waiting to be fed. I was also happy to hear that all the neighbours now look out for the donkey as they know she is blind and if they see her in trouble, go and help her.