I almost lost my donkey yesterday

Mrs. Robinson

Mrs. Robinson

Well-known Member
Location
Nampa,Idaho
😭😭 It was horrible.

Went out to feed in the morning and she was down. Called her but she barely picked her head up. Called for Wes and we both tried to encourage her to get up and although she gave it a try,she just couldn`t. We are thinking she must have been down all night,sinc she was out in her paddock and not in her stall where she goes to sleep every night.

The nightmare really began when I tried to call my vet. The answering service kept telling me that I would have to bring her in. Ummm,I can`t get her up. She kept insisting that I would have to find someone to help get her up and bring her in. Turns out,she heard "dog".not donkey. And apparently they no longer treat large animals. So I start making calls and no one does farm calls here anymore. One vet does,but you have to be their client.

I jumped on Facebook and posted on the Equestrian page and within minutes I had many suggestions of out of county vets to call.Unfortunately,none were available yesterday. I was losing hope when I got a message from a vet saying she would come and help.Bless this woman!!! She was an hour away,but she CAME! She said we first had to get her rolled over as she had no doubt been on that side for way too long. My grandsons and son all came up and they all got her rolled over. The vet then put in an IV. Then she asked me the difficult question-did I want to continue or let her go? I said "Continue" She didn`t seem to be in any pain so that was my deciding factor. She was basing her question on the fact that she is old-29-and may not live much longer.But she is a Mammoth donkey,and their lifespan is generally 45 years-I guess she wasn`t aware of that.

So after a huge bag of fluids and DMSO put into her,we were able to get her up.She was very shaky in the rear,and I was so afraid she would go back down,but all she wanted to do was EAT,so she did just that,for a few hours lol. I went out to check on her before bed last night and gave her a tortilla (her favorite thing!) and she gobbled that down,then tried to eat my flashlight. Jumped out of bed at first light to check on her and she was on her feet in her stall and gobbled down another tortilla.

Vet has put her on an analgesic,thinking she may be arthritic and that was why she couldn`t get up. So we will see.

It sure was cool to see how this community came together to try to get helpfor us though! The vet actually only saw my post because someone tagged her in it. There were over 130 comments on the post,with soooo many offers to help. And served as a wake up for many others here who have horses and didn`t realize what the emergency vet situation is here.Many have said they will now be making an emergency plan.
 

So glad to hear that you had a caring vet who came out. I would imagine it was very trying as not all vets are trained for this type of work. You got a good one. Facebook to the rescue.

Donkeys are very smart and sensitive animals, we used to have one at the trailer resort we stayed at. Harry was a riot....he would follow us on a walk down the country road, the owner, me, the park dog, and sometimes a cat....our own little parade procession. One day hubby joined us and he is not what you would call a "donkey person" Harry must have sensed this and kept butting hubby in the rear as this was a sign of donkey affection. Hubby was not impressed as we were laughing and finally he yelled at Harry to "stop it"

Poor Harry, his head went down, his feelings were hurt and he was sulking. No amount of apology helped. We left hubby at home after that.
 

Awwwwe..... what a heartwarming story. I was at the edge of my seat reading this. It’s so nice that it has a happy ending. Plus it also proves that most people are kind and loving. They can put themselves in your shoes which is true empathy.
Thanks for sharing this miracle with us. ❤️
 
Ruth n Jersey said:
I would have been beside myself with worry waiting for help to come. I'm so happy your donkey is feeling better.
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I was bawling. So frustrating.

My daughter asked me if I wanted Elias(her friend and our friend as well) to come up to help. I said yes,thinking he could help get her rolled over.(this was before I found a vet). Elias is a Deputy Sheriff. I thought he was coming to help,but it turned out he would bring his gun. NO! JUST NO! She would have to be in terrible pain for me to allow that-and I would probably never recover from the trauma of it.
 
Lee said:
So glad to hear that you had a caring vet who came out. I would imagine it was very trying as not all vets are trained for this type of work. You got a good one. Facebook to the rescue.

Donkeys are very smart and sensitive animals, we used to have one at the trailer resort we stayed at. Harry was a riot....he would follow us on a walk down the country road, the owner, me, the park dog, and sometimes a cat....our own little parade procession. One day hubby joined us and he is not what you would call a "donkey person" Harry must have sensed this and kept butting hubby in the rear as this was a sign of donkey affection. Hubby was not impressed as we were laughing and finally he yelled at Harry to "stop it"

Poor Harry, his head went down, his feelings were hurt and he was sulking. No amount of apology helped. We left hubby at home after that.
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Most people don`t realize how sweet and sensitive donkeys are. And Jezebel is extra so. My husband sat on the wet ground for 3 hours yesterday,with her head in his lap. He cried a few tears as well. We really love her.
 
When I first read the title of your post, I thought it was a joke. Then I read your heartwarming story and I was heartened by all the help you received, especially from the vet who traveled an hour to get to you. I wonder why you named her Jezebel, though. Can you post a photo of her?
 

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