END OF THE ROAD, NEW YORK CITY, 1902
One of the problems with being "out in the boonies" is getting a vet when you need one. I have been trying since last Thursday to get a particular vet out here. He does acupuncture & manipulation & has been out here before to work on some of our guys. But it is off his usual path & so far he hasn't made it out here for poor little Friolita. She acts like she's got something hung up in her hip or back, & even though we've been keeping her in a pen & giving her bute, she isn't getting any better. Friday I was told he'd be out today, this morning I was told maybe tomorrow. This afternoon, I was asked if we could haul her, I'm not sure we could even get her in a trailer. I understand the amount of time coming out here eats up, but that's just the way it is. It doesn't look like she is going to "fix" herself.
Yesterday I got a call from Bennie & Nina's Mom. Bennie & Nina have been in their new home almost 4 years, along with Rosie a large standard donkey & Lucy a rather tiny mini mule. Oh! & a couple of horse buddies too. About 3 weeks ago the vet came out to do dental, etc. Rosie is not the most cooperative girl in the world. We tried to move her from her old home, to this home, years ago. She took one look at the trailer coming on the property & promptly jumped the fence. They had to get a couple of cowboys to rope her.later. She's friendlier now, but on her terms. She had no reaction to the sedative even after being given more. When she finally laid down, when it was time to get up, she couldn't. She finally got up around midnight, but couldn't walk & couldn't stay up. She had beaten her knees & head till they were bloody, & over the next few days of being up & down ended up down in the mesquite bosque, a long way from the corrals. After 2 weeks of her not moving out of the bosque area, the call was made for the vet & backhoe to come the next morning. That morning when Mom went out, she was standing in her corral. I often wonder if they have a mental path to our minds, especially when things like that happens.
Donkeys have a problem with anesthetic that isn't always addressed, especially if a vet hasn't worked that much with donkeys. They usually take more for their size than a horse would, but they also can have a problem with their lungs stopping if they are down for too long. A friend that runs a sanctuary, lost a 6 year old jenny not long ago. She had a lot of sarcoids on her head & face. They put her on the ground & it took a lot longer than they planned, so rather than quit & work on them later, the vet gave her more anesthetic. Her lungs stopped & they had no oxygen or any way to inflate them, so they lost her. What a sad situation, to happen, & actually preventable. I always wondered why my vet went into hyper mode when gelding a jack, I think I know now.
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