When you adopt a donkey as a gift for someone, you are helping us to be there for donkeys when they need it most.
Shocks, for example, was found barely alive on a farm in Ireland. When our staff came across him in 2010, nobody expected him to survive.
It was the worst case of neglect the welfare team had ever seen; Shocks had a skin infection in his neck and rather than seek treatment, his owners had poured industrial-strength bleach into his wounds, tethered him to a pole and left him to die.
Following his rescue, Shocks was given ongoing vital veterinary care which eventually healed his wounds,but it was the months and years of care since, that has helped Shocks grow in confidence and learn to trust humans again.
His story of recovery was made extra special when he made friends with a little girl called Amber. Amber and her twin sister, Hope, were born 14 weeks premature, and Amber was rushed to hospital for an emergency tracheostomy. Doctors diagnosed Amber with Cerebral Palsy and said that she was unlikely to ever walk or talk.
When Amber and Shocks first met at The Donkey Sanctuary in Birmingham it was as though they had known each other for years. Despite having a fear of humans due to his mistreatment, when Shocks saw Amber approaching, he lowered his head so that she could wrap her arms around his neck.
As Amber’s mother, Tracy, said: “It was as if they understood each other’s pain. Like two broken beings, helping each other.”
