SARA - OUR DONKEY IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING

Sara in her sheep skin to keep her warm

This is the story of our Sara.  I had intended to add some narrative to this story of Sara written by Shirley, but there are no words to make this any more compelling.  Yet another reason to be so grateful for the Donkey Refuge and for Rob and Shirley.
Sara and her best friend Hannah were the first two donkeys to arrive at our Farm in 2004. Sara at 8 years of age arrived with many health issues because of total lack of attention, neglect and abuse. Sara's halter had grown in to her face, her hoofs were so overgrown they curled up like Arabian slippers, she had no hair on her back and it was snowy winter weather at the time. Her molars were so long she could not close her mouth and as a result could not chew her food so she would just suck the hay and spit it out and as a result Sara was suffering from malnutrition. Sara was also very frightened of everything and everyone so we were confident she had been beaten sometime in her short life.
The farriers trimmed her hooves, the dentist floated her teeth plus extracted some of her molars that couldn't be saved and we put a sheep skin on her back to keep her warm throughout the Shuswap winter. It took her two years to grow her coat back properly.  She has slowly lost or had extracted most of her back teeth and has never really gotten over her very timid and fearful demeanor. Sara still winces and cries if a hand is raised too quickly around her face even after eight years of care and love at the Refuge. Who ever mishandled her must of done a good job to imprint the fear in her memory because she has never relaxed nor forgiven the mistreatment she received in the hands of her previous human owner.
Sara can forage on pasture but she cannot eat hay so she is on a warm mash in the winter months and receives the soft parts of the hay bale to chew on if she so desires. Sara is only handled by certain people who she is most comfortable with. Sara also has cataracts and with the failing of her eyesight she does not participate in any of the Refuge activities anymore, and she is no longer walked around the farm by the volunteers.
Sara has bonded with a new arrival to the Special Needs herd, a donkey named Lady Bug. Lady Bug will be Sara's eyesight and protector from here on in and they both can be seen side by side on pasture or in the barns.

In the 8 years of living with us she has lost her best friend Hannah who was also neglected and abused and only survived a year after her arrival at the Refuge. As well, Sara lost her next best friend and protector Maria from old age. The picture to the right is of Sara, Jose and Maria.
In 2011 she became friends with wonderful Sady that we lost in January of this year.  We are thankful that Sara has opened her heart once again to the friendship of Lady Bug.
 May they live the rest of their lives safe and content at the Donkey Refuge with the help of all us. May the kindness Sara receives now make up for the abuse and neglect that she received in the first 8 years of her life.