The Donkey Sanctuary's work in Mexico helps thousands of working donkeys and mules every year through mobile services throughout the city and outskirts.

Its teams of veterinary workers have the monumental task of treating hundreds of sick and overworked animals that arrive at the clinics each day; donkey owners are encouraged to make use of the Sanctuary's free service.

Sanctuary vet Omar Prado Ortiz, who works in Mexico City, received a call one day that would require his whole team to work together to save the life of one little donkey.

"A gentleman donkey owner, who is completely blind, called our clinic in desperation. His donkey had been killed by a wild dog, and her young foal, Tacita, was also savagely attacked but had survived. Tacita was in a terrible condition as she had a very large wound on her head so the owner asked if he could bring her in for help.

He travelled 12 hours to get to our clinic, arriving at midnight. My colleague Horacio and I arrived to meet her and were astonished that she was still alive. We both realised she would need a great deal of treatment but felt she deserved a chance - she had made it this far.

The wounds were very serious and we had to remove her right ear completely as it was too badly damaged. In a terrible state of shock Tacita soon lost all her hair, yet she continued to eat and remained determined to survive.

I visited Tacita every day to clean her wounds and it took almost two months for her to recover fully.

She is now a stunningly beautiful donkey and we have re-homed her to a horse ranch where the owners have a good reputation for looking after their animals. Here, she is cared for like a pet and kept away from dogs. Tacita is a very strong little donkey and we are so glad we were able to help her - it makes our jobs so worthwhile."

Are you a UK taxpayer?

When making a donation, it would be helpful if you could inform us if you are a UK taxpayer to enable us to claim back money from the tax man through the Gift Aid Scheme by completing our gift aid declaration form.

An overview of the Gift Aid Scheme is available on the HM Customs & Excise website.

Donation enquiries

If you have any queries regarding making a donation, please contact us.