GEORGE IS IN BAD SHAPE

Good Afternoon, Everyone


George

You will remember that I blogged about our newest donkey George and actually wondered if he was a mule in donkey's clothing.  He is indeed a donkey.  You may not know that he was rescued from a farmer who kept in in a garage with a cow, a llama, some goats and chickens.  We believe the reason that he arrived with a shiny summer coat was because he was never outside in the winter weather. 
Well, I have some very bad news to share with everyone.  I received the following message from one of the founders of the Refuge, Shirley, this afternoon:

George has an abscess in his back hoof.  George has experienced a very severe injury in the past that cracked the hoof and the injury was never dealt with properly. As a result the hoof is still cracked and dirt is getting up inside and becoming infected. The hoof actually broke away when the vet began cutting the outer hoof away to let the pus out. George is now confined to the barn. It is going to take a long time to heal this abscess and it may also be a chronic problem for him.
This whole problem is the result of bad hoof care in the first years of George's life. It was so hard to see George shaking with pain on Monday until Rob gave him some pain medication.
A very sad state of affairs and another example of The Donkey Refuge working to fix a problem with a donkey whose feet were not cared for properly in the first place.


The vertical line on his hoof is a split that goes from the
hair line to the end of his hoof - NOT GOOD.

I try very hard to be understanding of previous owners and not judge them harshly but this is just too much.  George is only 6 years old and will have to endure months and maybe years of terrible pain and will not be able to enjoy romping around the pasture as donkeys love to do.  I can't even imagine the pain he is in.  We won't be able to integrate him with other donkeys until his hoof has healed.

For anyone who may still wonder about the need for a Donkey Refuge - there you go.  I wish this was an isolated incident but it is not.  There are donkeys out there that are being abused as I write this blog.  They need our help.

I am ending this blog as my emotions are getting the best of me.