Help us be a light in the darkness for donkeys in need
When a donkey's sight is in danger, it is critical to intervene. We were able to be there for Jasha, Jonty and Snowdrop - but we need your support to continue to be a guiding light for donkeys in need.
Jasha's story: the donkey who "cried blood"
On a visit to our partner organisation, the Palestine Wildlife Society (PWLS), we waited with part-time vet Dr Yousef Masolam at a PWLS clinic for local donkey owners.
A young boy appeared over the brow of a hill with a donkey walking reluctantly behind him. Although the white mare looked to be in fair condition from a distance, as she came closer it became clear that she needed immediate care.
Jasha had been tied to a tree and suffered a serious gash to her face - dangerously close to her eye. The painful looking wound was surrounded by flies, and was so raw that it looked as though she was crying blood.
“You can see that the wound is big and likely to be infected. Not only will it be very painful, but the flies attracted to the wound makes it extremely irritating and upsetting for the donkey.” said Dr Yousef.
The wound was at serious risk of developing into a nasty infection - which, given that the injury was so close to her eye, could have led to sight loss or blindness for Jasha.
This was a fact that did not go unnoticed by her owner, mused Dr Yousef.
“The owner of the donkey has not come today. I think the father is ashamed to come here because the wound is bad and he knows we will ask why this has happened, so he has sent his son."
As a result, Dr Yousef spent time with the young boy who had brought the donkey, teaching him to gently clean the wound and apply medication.
It's thanks to your support that Jasha was brought into safe and knowledgeable hands for treatment. There are countless donkeys like her in all corners of the world that we are still trying to reach - and we need your help to get to them.
Be a guiding light for donkeys in need
Discover Jonty and Snowdrop: two donkeys saved from sight loss in the UK
Jonty
When a sharp thorn became painfully embedded into Jonty’s hoof, the stress of the injury and being taken into hospital triggered the recurrence of a chronic eye problem. When Jonty's vision deteriorated into blindness, our expert vets were able to nurse him back to health, and give him back his sight.
Snowdrop
When rescued donkey Snowdrop came into our care with a gruesome and life-threatening tumour hanging from her eye, our team needed to act. Read on to discover how, after months of dedication and expert care, staff at our specialist donkey hospital managed to save not only Snowdrop's sight - but her life, too.
Make a difference today.
£5 could help pay for the medication needed to treat painful eye conditions in donkeys no matter where they are - just like Jasha in Bethlehem.
£10 could help pay for the specialist eye equipment our vets need to take a closer look at the inner workings of a donkey’s eyes and help detect problems in donkeys like Jonty.
£20 could help pay for the running costs of our diode laser – the equipment we use to remove sarcoids, the cause of Snowdrop's sight issues, from our donkeys.