ABANDONED BABY DONKEY

A MIRACLE NAMED CHARLIE

The last few days, quite a few people have been involved in finding a place for this little guy.  I hope he makes it. 

But what about the momma and; the three other jennies?  It sounds like they aren't in very good conditions for whatever reason. 

MY FAVORITE PAST TIME..........NOT.........!!!

Our summer temperatures are headed for the Stratosphere, it's suppose to be 113* tomorrow.  We've got rather spoiled the last couple of years with relatively comfortable heat indexes, but this summer is starting out with a bang......!!!  Earlier this afternoon it was 108.3* in the back yard....!! That probably isn't real accurate, if you walk outside it's like walking into an oven.  

When Coquette came in earlier this month she had long tangled hair.  I started grooming on her to see if the hair would shed out, but she was hanging onto most of it.  I decided to go ahead and body clip her & this morning was the day.  We had a family out for a tour, which meant that by the time we got around to clipping it was getting pretty hot.  

Our plan of attack was to put a halter on her, tie her up and clip her.  Hmmmm......."me:" thinks she's never even seen a clipper, let alone had it used on her reluctant body.  

Shaggy girl

Time to get rid of all that excess hair......!!!

I have some Dormosedan and thought about using it, but didn't.  Should have.........!!!!  The problem with it.....you put a dab under their tongue and it takes 30-45 minutes to take effect.  It was already hot enough to cook an egg on a rock, and we have the squeeze, so got her in there, and I started trying to use clippers around the bars with her moving most of the time. 

I have a great set of clippers, Steward Oster Clipmaster, that Daisy's family gave us when she came to live with us.  But in exchange for having a wonderful pair of clippers I have to put up with the fact that they are large and heavy, which is hard to deal with under normal circumstances.  Wrestling around the corral panels, really made for a fun filled experience, for all three of us.......!!!

Daisy and I have a deal, she stands as still as possible, I get done as soon as I can, and we don't need John.  Coquette hasn't learned the game, so it took a lot longer and John had to stand by and help to control the situation.  We finally got done, not a great job but she should be a lot cooler.  For awhile we thought she was going to have a line of long hair down her side, because she insisted on leaning on the corral panel, so I couldn't get the clippers where they needed to be.  

 Don't look too close

I'm sure she was looking for me to THANK ME...........NOT...!!

She looks rather like she went thru a buzz saw, there is no way you can get a good clip, if you don't have total access to the body, so you can run nice even rows with the clippers.  Too much starting and stopping and you end up with tuffs here and there.  She's got to be more comfortable though, which was the whole idea.  

I'm suppose to race tomorrow night.  Should be lots of fun, putting on my helmet, racing jacket, harnessing up, and sitting in staging until the race before us is over.  It's not too bad, IF, that race is ran clean with few yellow flags.  But if they have one of those races where they can't finish a lap without a yellow flag, we get to sit and "cook".  Oh well, we forget all about it once we're on the track.....!!! LOL

Jumping Donkey

He definitely doesn't want to bump his legs, clearance doesn't seem to be a problem.....!!!

Had about a dozen teenagers from Ft. Huachuca, the Army Post come out this morning to meet the donkeys and do some grooming.  After eating, grooming is one of their favorite things to do, and with so many kids, almost everyone got a chance to get groomed.  Two or three of them didn't want to groom, but the rest of them seemed to enjoy it, & of course the donkeys were thrilled. 

This was the first time Reba had been groomed by outsiders and she did just fine, although I tied her up.  Usually if you try to groom her she walks off if she isn't tied.  Hopefully she'll learn to stand still, like everyone else.  

No one wanted to brush Coquette who really needed it, so I used a curry comb on her & Penny.  Coquette has way too much hair for 100 degree weather.  I've been talking about body clipping her, which would take less time and be more effective.  Now that it's so hot body clipping doesn't sound like much fun, so I might just continue giving her a lick and a promise with the brushes & combs.  

We had a battle of wills this morning.  John and I were doctoring Coquette and I decided to pick up at least her front legs, just because.  Left one no problem, right one not going to happen.  WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?    I know they are left brained, right brained but jeesh this is ridiculous.  She didn't throw a fit, she just tried to lean on me or dance away, even though she was tied.  When I say lean on me, I mean literally falling down leaning.   I tried using my thumb in her ribs, either I don't have enough strength to make her uncomfortable, or she just doesn't care.  The only thing I had with me that even looked like it might work was a hoof pick in my medicine kit. I tried the handle of that sticking in her ribs under the pressure of my weight behind it.  For those of you that know me, that isn't really much, but you would think my weight behind a hoof pick handle poking the ribs would make her move away..........nope, didn't seem to really bother her much at all.......!!!!  GRRRRRRRR....!!!!  I had to end on a positive note, so she finally relaxed the leg enough I could get the foot off the ground for a second.  Did that 3 times & called it a success.....!!!  I think clicker training might be the answer.  Need to work with Penny to get a halter on her, so might try it on both of them.  Penny even in a small pen, will not let you put a halter on her & has no qualms about turning her butt in your face.  Since she is a kicker, we haven't made much progress with haltering.  They both think animals crackers are exciting, so we'll see if we can do some behavior modification on both of them. 

Molly & Jack are going to stay for awhile....!!!

   I'm not sure who this is, it's an old picture I ran across yesterday. 

Courtney was here last night to do some trimming.  Gus had been walking a little slow & it had been awhile since she was here.  His frogs were "smeared" all over the bottom of his feet.  I guess since he doesn't move around very much & when he does he tries to stay on soft ground, he doesn't wear his frogs off.  She had to design the valleys on either side of one of his frogs, with a hoof knife.  His soles are pretty flat anyway, but there was absolutely no indentations on either side of the frog.  

This morning he was walking normal for him.  It's always a question as to whether to take off a little more or not with him.  Sometimes it only takes an extra swipe or two of the grinder & he'll be sore for a couple of days.  It's a real balancing act to keep him comfortable because the inside of his feet are such a mess.  But he's actually done pretty good for the last year or so.  Once we agreed to leave his feet really long or in his case tall, he's done much better.

Guess I'll quit trying to find a home for the mini mules for awhile.  Molly still has a little bit of thrush in one front foot and limps on that foot sometimes.  Courtney said she wants to have at least a year to work on their feet, so I guess we'll just keep them around for awhile.  That won't break our hearts, we've gotten use to having them around and Jack has settled down to the point the donkeys don't even pay any attention to him, and he doesn't lay his ears back and make ugly faces, they are just part of the "herd".  A lot of times Reba the big red mule comes in with them instead of with Rusty, not sure why.  She and Rusty hang out together most of the time, but Rusty doesn't seem to care for the little ones at all. 

PETITION TO STOP DONKEY BASKETBALL IN OHIO

Please check out the petition under New Stuff on the right hand side of this blog to stop a school in Ohio from using donkey basketball as a fund raiser. 

I see nothing wrong with a donkey having a job.  But having donkeys dragged around the country to be used as entertainment for inexperienced riders that sometimes seem to weigh almost as much as the donkey, doesn't seem right. 

YUM, YUM, YUM.....!!!

One of my favorite smells in the world is tomato leaves, & one of my favorite tastes is the tomato itself.  For the last month or so I've been able to pick a few tomatoes from my "patch" for Mother.  But this morning I found three ready to pick.  Mother got one for lunch, but the other two are designated for supper tonight.....!!!!  

I've been doing a Caddy Shack type of behavior the last couple of weeks.  Who knew desert rock squirrels LOVE tomatoes.  I noticed something had taken bites out of both red & green tomatoes, hmmmm.......!!!  When I told John he said he had chased a rock squirrel off the courtyard.  Didn't know they would climb over the wall, although John did see one manage to squeeze thru the gate.  I put out pink plastic strips to fly in the breeze,  & shiny pieces of aluminum pie pans to whirl around in the wind.  Also put a sun screen fabric over the tomatoes, since it's getting so hot right now.  Not sure what if any of these "scared" them away, but haven't had any damage for the last few days.  One little monster, took a ripe one & green one, & tried to get out the gate with them.  When he couldn't figure out the logistics, he just left them up against the gate.  

I had noticed there were 2 places in the tomato patch that the tomato vines weren't going & if they did the blooms died.  One afternoon I went out & one of the outdoor cats, jumped up & took off.  Julius had been curled up in one of those spots.  Boy was I mad, at least I thought I was mad until I told John & he said "oh yes was it Hobo I saw her in there last week.............!!!!  Then I was REALLY mad, he had known for a week the cats would lay there and didn't think it was information worthy of passing on?  I told him I wanted anything he has in his garage & surrounding area that could be used as a stake.  I used up all he had & filled in the rest with sticks stuck in the ground.  You would be amazed at how quickly the vines have filled in the bare spots.......!!! LOL

Doctored the girls this morning & they were almost bored, not even using the ropes on Penny's legs, she will let me run my hands up & down her legs, no problem.  Haven't tried outside the squeeze or picking up a foot yet, but she seems to be doing really good, so far.  Well except for that spraying her legs with Alu-Shield where there is no hair & fly spray.  I had thought of trying to work with them outside the squeeze, but she threw such a hissy over the sprays, guess we'll wait until they aren't so important to her.  

John had a jeep tour yesterday, went out with a cowboy hat on, & she took off.  Most of the roping donkeys are afraid of cowboy hats, so that is another bit of information about her former life, probably.

Coquette has been shaking her ears & scratching at them.  So I dribbled some Animax down both of them.  She actually was pretty good about it.  Both of them seem willing to try to get along, although it will take a long time for me to trust Penny, I've seen her in action.

STILL DOCTORING THE GIRLS

Lysa & John, Penny in the "squeeze" & her best friend Coquette "helping"......!!!

Every morning we doctor.  Coquette has some sort of "thing" on her face.  All the hair is gone & it itches, at least she rubs it, which of course if she opens it the flies love....!!!  I found one of Cisco's old crusader masks, had to sew it back together, but it covers the lower part of her face so the flies can't get to her, even if it is open.  SHE HATES IT...!!!  Keeps shaking her head & trying to rub it off.  "Going to be a LONG summer, I guess".....!!!!  Hopefully she'll get over it soon.  

I don't know if it is fungal or bacteria or what, lice, mange, I mean there are a lot of things it could be.  They all look about alike to me unless there is habronema, they seem to be my speciality...!!! Got rid of the ones on Penny's face & in her eye & so far no new eruptions, now that she is wearing a fly mask.  Hopefully that's the end of that.....!!  The whole side of her face is bald probably from years of habronema sores all summer, but at least she doesn't have to put up with the itching now.  

They are settling down, Penny hasn't let loose with one of her "famous" kicks since Tyler was here.  When we have her in the squeeze, I desensitize her legs with a rope, nothing dramatic just wrap it around & pull it back & forth.  She's doing real good, seems to accept it.  Of course I haven't tried anything horrifying like using the rope to pick up a foot, or trying to pick one up by hand.  I also haven't tried working with her outside the squeeze, not too thrilled with the idea of her being in a position of being able to swing that loaded end around at will........!!!!  LOL

Suppose to have a group of teenagers come out next week to groom.  They are in some kind of "keep the kids entertained for the summer" program at Ft. Huachuca, down by Sierra Vista.  There will be almost enough for each one to have a donkey to groom, which will be great for the donkeys.  Most of them still have winter hair hanging on.  

Everyone else seems to be doing good right now.  Courtney is coming out this week-end to trim Gus & whoever else needs it.  Gus is the only one we have right now that needs regular trimming.  I offered to haul him to her somewhere, but she wants to look the others over to make sure they are self trimming properly. 

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A PEDICURE MAKES.......!!!

COQUETTE'S FRONT FEET WHEN WE PICKED HER UP LAST WEEK

HER FEET AFTER TYLER WAS HERE YESTERDAY

Who knew there was an actual hoof capsule in that mess. I guess her feet had kept growing taller and taller like a stovepipe, until the length of the frog in the back, pushed her forward and collapsed the front hoof wall That's what she's been walking on for a LONG long time.  

We all figured she would really be sore from the tendons in the back of her legs contracting, but she seems to be enjoying her new freedom.  I've seen her turn a foot back for a second or two when she's standing, but she hasn't offered to turn either of them back to walk...........  YIPPEE!  

  

NOT A BAD LOOKING FOOT BOTTOM, CONSIDERING

THAT'S BETTER...!!!

I

I was afraid when she came in this morning she would really be sore from the tendons in the back of her legs being stretched.  But she came in walking like she was fairly comfortable.  We had her in the squeeze this morning doing some doctoring and unfortunately everyone else was out including her buddy Penny.  She threw an absolute hissy fit, down to and including pawing the ground "hard" with both front feet.  So I think she is doing OK........!!!! 

Penny was as big a problem as we thought she would be.  She is a fear kicker, which means you don't always know what will set her off.  Well she got set off, when she saw Tyler come in with his tools and it pretty much went downhill from there.  He brought "back-up" with him, 2 strong young men.  She didn't manage to kick anyone directly, a couple of close calls.  I didn't get any pictures working on her, we were all too busy, ducking and running.......!!!   For a little girl, she can be formidable. 

Tyler, bless his heart thinks he's having fun.........!!!!  LOL

FATTY LIVER DISEASE

This is nasty reading for people, BUT, if you think "donkey", and replace doughnuts, fried chicken, and burgers, with, alfalfa, sweet feed, grains, and WAY TOO MANY treats, you have a good idea of the correlation between fatty liver disease for people and donkeys.  The difference.................people can make choices, donkeys eat what they are fed.  People need to be good caretakers of their animals, be it dogs, cats, donkeys, horses, doesn't matter.  Don't kill them with kindness, no matter how sad and hungry those big eyes look......!!!

QUILLA'S THE MAN..........!!!

Doesn't look like much of a Don Juan in this picture, but Penny seems to think he's quite the man. 

When John did round-up this morning everyone came in pretty good, except for Coquette, Quillla & Penny.  Rang the bell & mixed up mush...........still missing.  While John fed hay, I headed for Burroland to see what I could find.  I found an X-rated party going on, that's what I found.....!!! 

 I guess Coquette was the cheerleader.....!!!  Who knew Quilla was such a STUD.....!!!! LOL  Good thing I took a halter & lead with me, because they weren't the least bit interested in me or breakfast.  The girls weren't interested in being haltered, but Quilla knews the drill, & the girls followed him.  

Doctoring Penny went pretty good, although that right rear leg hasn't given up the fight yet.  She's not putting as much effort into the battle, so I like to think we are making progress.  

Her face looks real good, all dried up, although I am pretty sure there are larvae hiding in there & growing.   Unfortunately the hair will probably not grow back in most of the areas.  

Her front legs are pretty badly scarred, I'm keeping them covered with Thuja Zinc Oxide to hopefully thwart the stable flies that are really out in force right now.  

Tyler is coming out tomorrow afternoon to see what he can do with their feet.  Penny's aren't real bad, although her rears look like shovels.  Coquette is the one that really needs some work.  

 

She might have to have elongated shoes put on both front feet, that's one of the options.  We'll see what Tyler thinks is best.  She actually walks pretty good, although I would imagine her tendons are really contracted.  Hopefully they will stretch out with time.  She is a very sweet girl, only about 6 years old. 

RIP Jacko

Jacko came thru here in 2007, he had recently lost his horse buddy & was now by himself.  His owners wanted to re-home him rather than get him another companion, so we took him.  A woman had gotten in touch with me about finding a companion for her surviving donkey.  Her jenny had been attacked by a mountain lion, & although she doctored the jenny for days, one morning she was dead.  

Laura wanted another jenny, which I didn't have at the time, but decided to try a gelding.  From what she said the boys bonded very well & have enjoyed an indulgent life for the last 6 yeasrs.

Recently Laura got in touch with me, about Jacko having some health problems.  When we went to see what was going on, it was perfectly clear one of his problems was Cushing's disease, just from looking at him.  So she put him on Chasteberry to see if that would help.  

The vet also said he had a nasal tumor, which causing horrible drainage, that did clear up with a couple of round of antibiotics.  

But the worst problem & what led to him being euthanized yesterday morning was his feet.  He was probably insulin resistant, & although Laura was feeding him properly I would imagine he had developed low grade chronic laminitis, which is one of the symptoms or results of insulin resistance & Cushings.  Unless you are aware of the changes going on, donkeys are such stoic animals when they have sore feet or anything else for that matter, you'd not know it until it was quite advanced.  

Laura was told by her vet a few months ago, it was just a matter of time, & the last few days & his level of discomfort helped Laura decide what was best for him.  Unfortunately when you have animals there comes a time when you have to stop thinking of what you would want to happen, & think only what is best for them.  Been there, & hate it every time..........but it's the last gift we can give them & is part of being a good caretaker. 

Laura recently adopted Heloise from us, so Tio won't be alone again, which is a good thing.

 

PENNY WAS BETTER THIS MORNING........!!!!

 CUTIE PILE...!!!

Not by choice, I'm afraid.  John set up the corral panel squeeze, he acted as the Judas goat & she followed him in, well actually she was following the animal cracker he was offering. 

We did her face, that went well.  The front legs were just almost more than she could stand.  She almost fell on the ground she was so afraid.  My WAG (Wild Ass Guess) is she has been used for roping & they roped her front legs.  Perhaps the missing hair on her legs isn't all from stable fly damage after all.  We did a lot of touching the legs, moving down 1/2 an inch & offering a cookie.  She finally almost accepted it, to the point that I could put some Thuja Zinc Oxide on her bare legs.  She tried kicking with the hind legs a couple of times, which got her yelled at & no cookie.  Finally was time for the hind legs, not anything I was looking forward to.  

She has absolutely no problem with you touching her hind legs, she doesn't even flinch.  That's why I think the front legs have been roped, guess they never roped the rears.  Wonder if her back being hunched could be from being flipped.  I would hope not, but I guess it is possible. 

Now that may all change tomorrow, we'll see.  She seems willing to meet us half way, especially if we don't run out of cookies....!!!

I have a big problem with a couple of rock squirrels & my tomato "farm" of 4 plants on the courtyard.  They have discovered this new food source & this morning John showed me where they had hauled off 2 green tomatoes & left them outside their hole under a Christmas cactus.  Later on in the morning the tomatoes were gone, guess the little thief needed a snack.  GRRRRRR......!!!  I'm really not willing to share the bounty, although I'm not quite sure what to do about the problem.  I've hung strips of pink plastic on the trellis to flop in the breeze.  Since we found the tomatoes by his hole this morning, I would imagine the wiggly pink strips aren't much of a deterrent.  Oh! well there is a family down in St. David that have a truck farm, guess I can buy tomatoes if I have to.....!!! LOL

ALMOST A RODEO.....!!

Well, it's been an "interesting" morning so far.  Jack the mini mule came in limping on his right front, has a little swelling in the fetlock, so I would imagine he stepped wrong.  

The stable flies are out in force the last few days & are nibbling on almost everyone's front legs.  They've been busy on Jack, so he needed to be sprayed with fly spray.  EEEEEkkkkkk.....!!!!  I guess fly spray sounds like a snake or something if they haven't been sprayed before.  So put on the halter, get the lead, find something to tie him to or at least wrap the lead around, when he tries to take off for parts unknown,  If they would just stand still, it would be over in no time, but, NO, LET'S BE DRAMATIC, & throw a hissy fit.....!!!

OK, on to other fun things.  Quilla had lost a legging, John found the legging, unfortunately it had been "Wister-ized".  The little bugger had pulled & tugged on it enough to tear one side of the vel-cro completely off, although it was still stuck to the other side of the vel-cro.  The polo wraps are working out real well so far, BUT, they don't make good "toys" & they are hard to find.  

Put Thuja Zinc Oxide on Boaz & Cisco's sheaths.  Cisco's has to be smeared every morning during the summer, to provide some moisture to a very scarred part of his body.  It also keeps the flies from landing on his sheath.  If one lands he will drop to the ground & scoot until it's a bloody mess that needs to be covered with Zinc Oxide.  So it's just easier to smear it before the flies get a chance.  

I'm also keeping Underwood's Horse Medicine on Boaz's knee that won't heal & it seems to be working good.  He doesn't do well with bandages on his knee, so this seems to be keeping it covered by making a hard covering over the area.  Who knows maybe under that covering it is healing.........!!!!!  That would be really nice.  

I saved the best for last.  I've been doctoring Penny's face ever since we picked her up.  As I said before her legs are bald like  Quilla's.  Of course the stable flies appreciate the easy access, so I gathered up assorted barriers this morning, fly leggings, polo wraps, some homemade wraps I have & out we went to "fix" her.  Her face is really looking good, got it doctored with ivermectin.  

Time to work on her legs.........!!!!!   Oh! lordy, really not what she had planned this morning.  I can almost guarantee she has been a roping donkey.  She is a fear kicker with her hind legs & doesn't have a problem with rearing in the front & spinning, either before, during or after the hind leg kicking.  I gave up on putting any material on her legs quickly.  Poor John was along for the ride, at least he was way up front.  Coquette got upset & tried to join the "herd", which meant we had her to contend with too.  At least she isn't a kicker.  

I finally got her sprayed with fly spray on the front legs, but it wasn't easy.  I think I will have John set up one of our corral panel squeezes to put her in for "leg" work in the future.  We're too old to move fast enough to stay out of her way, long term.  One of us would get nailed, & I'm afraid it would be John.  He has never learned not to stand flat footed around unknown animals.  I learned that at an early age by experience...!!!! LOL

PVDR vs HDLM

The "story"  according to Wynne from Hacienda de los Milagros

The "story" according to Mark from Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue

DONKEYS ON THE MOVE.........

PICTURE DOWNLOADED FROM MARK MYER'S TWITTER PAGE

Saturday morning, Deming, New Mexico, Mark headed back to Texas with 2 trailers full of donkeys from the rescue at Hacienda de los Milagros. 

PLEASE DONATE.......!!!!

There is a link on the right to help Hoofprints of the Heart with some of the expenses for this huge rescue effort.  All donations no matter how small, will help them continue to help these and other animals.  

It is a sad fact to rehabilitate equines that have been neglected is quite expensive.  Overgrown feet, x-rays, infected teeth, special feeds, and supplements, and vaccinations, for a start.  A minimum estimate to take care of a healthy donkey would probably be about $600 a year.  These neglected animals could cost many times that & even then might not be adoptable.   Penny & Coquette will not be adoptable, they both have too many problems, that would make them a very hard "sell", no matter how sweet they are.  

Please consider giving what you can to this worthwhile cause.  James at Hoofprints gets maximum use from all donations, & really could use your help. 

THE GIRLS ARE OUT AND ABOUT.......!!!

COQUETTE & PENNY THIS MORNING EXPLORING

This might be the last picture I take for awhile.  The lens on my camera as of this morning no longer goes in and out when you turn it off and on.  It also turns itself off within seconds of you trying to turn it on.  I really hate to get another camera, this one operates under the KISS principle & believe me, SIMPLE is my middle name or should be.  I got a new camera a year or so ago, & finally gave it to my grandson, it had too many layers of "stuff", I never could tell where I was, which of course made it difficult to do what I wanted to do.  Generally all I wanted to do was, take a picture & download it.  I don't even want to shop for a new camera....!!!!  

This morning we wormed the girls, and will do so again in about 10 days.  When they come in and you think they might be wormy, it's better to "lightly" worm them with something like Safe Guard, lightly being, using less wormer than you would normally use by weight, by 100 pounds or so.  They don't look wormy, but I know they haven't been wormed since they were at Milagros, however long that was.  

We doctored Penny's face, she's getting less cooperative every time, although so far John can "corral" her just by holding her around the neck.  The sores look better, but won't clear up until all the larvae are out, which will take a long time.  If I don't kill them with the Ivermectin, they will continue to grow until they are big enough to see, then I can go after them individually.

I guess while Dr. Weaver was here we should have had him work on Coquette.  I was standing behind her after I let her out of the pen & she walks with a definite wobble in her hind legs, I was going to take a video, but that's when I found out my camera is kaput......!!!

THE GIRLS ARE HERE..........!!!!

Here's a herd shot when we went up to Hoofprints of the Heart yesterday to pick up the girls.........yes the girls.  When we rounded them up, James had to rope Falena, aka, Coquette, aka Arabella (I'm having a terrible time getting a name to stick on her).  I guess that was the closest he had been to her, and we discovered she wasn't a gelding after all.......!! 

You'd think with feet like this she would be easy to halter, nope those feet might really look ugly, but they seem to work just fine, at least on soft ground.

Penny's name seems to fit her.  She was a little easy to work with and didn't mind being haltered and led.  

The dark spot on the left is her withers, she is hunchbacked.  The front half of her back sticks up about an inch or so.  Dr. Weaver came out today to see if he could manipulate her back.  He said her back is twisted where it dips down.  He adjusted her back and she tried to "adjust" him a couple of times, before she settled down.  He wants to work on her in a few weeks, he says she probably either had something fall on her, or was trapped in a twisted position.  It doesn't seem to bother her, she moves very easy, and doesn't seem to have any pain from it.  

She does have habronema larvae under her eye, I started working on this morning.  She obviously has not had a lot of attention & didn't really appreciate my "doctoring".  Some of them were big enough I could "retrieve" them with surgical tweezers.  The rest of them, I smeared with Ivernectin worming paste.  She has quite a few in the tissue around her eye.  Dr. Weaver said the Ivermectin wouldn't hurt her eye, so tonight I put some on the sores in her eye socket.  I can't dig them out like I do the ones on her cheek, so hopefully the Ivermectin will kill them.  We will keep a fly mask on her until next winter, so eventually we will get rid of them, but it will probably take all summer.  Her front legs are bald, just like Quillas.

It is always interesting to try to help these animals that haven't had the care they deserve.  I just wish it wasn't necessary, that people would take care of them properly & make sure they have what they need.

MORE OF THE HERD AT HOOFPRINTS OF THE HEART, MARANA, ARIZONA

JOHN TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HIS NEXT MOVE

 READY TO GO HOME............!!!!

NEWS COVERAGE OF THE RESCUE

Last night local channel 13 covered the rescue at 5, 6 & 10 pm & tonight KGUN 9 will also have something at 5, 6 & 10 pm, not sure if all 3 times will have it. 

I hope the coverage generates a lot of donations for James & Hoofprints, just the gas bills for the trucks hauling the trailers are frightening.  

When we go up to Hoofprints tomorrow to pick up those 2 donkeys, we are also going to be looking for Roxie a BLM jenny that was signed over to Milagros last summer.  Her Mom is one of the people that has been instrumental to keeping this deplorable situation out in the fresh air & sunshine, until something finally happened.

Not sure we will be able to recognize her, she is such a common color, but we'll look.  If we find her, her Mom would like to have her come home.  Keep your fingers crossed.

Took Molly to the vet this morning as planned.  She still hasn't peed...........!!!!  The vet said if she hadn't peed since Saturday she would probably be dead by now.  She has been in a pen by herself & there is no pee in there.

The vet checked her heart, said if her bladder had ruptured or something like that her heart rate would be thru the roof.  Everything was normal, although she was a little dehydrated.  But it is so hot right now, that isn't really a big surprise.  We had a CBC  (Complete Blood Count) draw, & she also got drenched with a tube up her nose & down in her stomach.  It's been over 5 hours & she still hasn't peed.

She really was a good girl, even for the tube in the nose.  That is usually not very well accepted by any of them.  Jack was thrilled when she came home, & has been outside her pen ever since.  She is staying in that pen until she PEES......!!!!!

HACIENDA de los MILAGROS IS OFFICIALLY CLOSED AS OF JUNE 4, 2013

RIP, the pain & suffering is finally over....  Thanks Patti

Can you imagine looking at an animal like this every day for months, having to turn him over so he didn't get open sores on his body, because he couldn't get up or stand? I will go to the wall for these animals.  But part of being a good steward is making sure they have quality of life.  These animals deserved better.

Thank heavens.........!!! It was too late for 7 donkeys & some of the horses, but for the  other 80 plus equines they now have a chance at a life with health care, dental care, foot care, food to eat & when the time comes a final obligation that is the responsibility of everyone that has animals in their lives.  

I will cover this in more detail later.  Right now the director of the "sanctuary" is trying to start another sanctuary called Circle of One.   He managed to take 7 horses when he was removed & is now using them as "seed" for the new rescue.  He is sending out requests for donations to people that were on the donor list for Milagros.  Please spread the word to anyone that might be tempted to donate to Wynne's new endeavor.

Wednesday we're going into Hoofprints in Tucson to pick up the crippled jenny, & James at Hoofprints asked if we would take a club footed younger gelding too.  Guess Courtney is going to have some interesting new feet to work on for awhile.

About 60 of the donkeys are at Hoofprints & the last 5 donkeys are being removed from HDLM tomorrow.  So if anyone would like to add a donkey or two to their family, I'm sure James could find a special one for you in the herd.  

 

We picked up Jack & Molly as planned.  We're keeping her in a pen by herself so we can monitor input & outgo.  So far she is eating, drinking, & pooing, but no peeing.  Not sure what that is about.  We have an appointment to take her into the vet tomorrow to see what they think & do some blood tests. Jack is very confused, he doesn't understand why he can't be in the pen with her.  For one thing she is getting a little alfalfa hay & oats.  If she does have hyperlipidemia it is important that she eats, so her system doesn't think it's starving to death.  He's such a little pig, he'd be right in the middle of the goodies.  

Got a call from our neighbor that has the movie site, Gammon's Gulch across the road from us yesterday afternoon.  They had been sitting at the table looking out the window & saw a young black bear wandering down the main street of the western town.  That's the first time we've heard of a bear that close to us.  One of the other neighbor's said she saw it a day or two before.  I would imagine it is a young male that has been kicked out of the area he was born in & is searching for a territory of his own.  There really isn't much in this area to make them stay, so hopefully he has moved on.  Years ago the local rancher shot a mountain lion, but we've never seen one of those either.  I don't think a black bear would bother the donkeys, they are usually pretty timid, but if he got hungry enough he might take on one of the minis.  So I would just as soon he go someplace else. 

 

JACK & MOLLY COMING BACK.......!!!

When we came in from the races at 2am this morning, there were 2 phone messages from Beverly to call her whenever I got in.  Oh! well, I have to assume she meant it, so I called her.  

Molly hadn't eaten since breakfast & was laying down most of the time, & someone had diarrhea, but they weren't sure who.  She wouldn't even take animal crackers, one of her personal favorites.  

We talked for awhile & I told her if Molly wasn't better by this morning we'd have to find a vet to come out & see her.  Her husband checked on Molly while we were on the phone, & said she was laying down & Jack was standing over her.  

Beverly was very upset, & I can't blame her for that.  It's awful when they are sick or down & you don't know why.  

My 2 ideas were either colic or hyperlipedemia and it looks like after being given some karo syrup & fed some alfalfa, she is perking up.  Which points to hyperlipidemia.  

Beverly had recently lost her mare and thinks she isn't ready for something like this.  So we are going in this afternoon and bring the mini mules back here.  It's too bad because this would have been a wonderful home for them & Hombre the horse is going to miss Jack, they had already became "buds" from what Beverly said. 

We had a real nice couple come out from Tucson today.  They had met a orphan baby donkey at their vet's & as they say, fell in love.  They called & asked if they could come out & meet the donkeys.  While they were here they did some grooming, which most of the donkeys absolutely love, they will stand as long as you will groom.  Some of them will even get back in line, hoping you don't remember them.  They say they will be back, which I know the donkeys really really appreciate.  

I forgot to say anything about the Pepper "crisis" while John was hauling donkeys Thursday.  When I went out to feed at suppertime, no Pepper.  I got everyone else in their pens, & found him right away down in the big wash.  He's never been down before when John wasn't here.  I tried to get him up by myself, but I just don't have enough muscle, besides John had taken all the good ropes with him.  

I came in & called one neighbor, had to leave a message.  So I called another one & he said he'd be right up.  I went back out with Pepper to hopefully keep him from thrashing around.  He's pretty much learned that once we get there, we'll get him up, but if nothing is happening he'll start trying to get up, which just wears the hair off his bones.  The 1st neighbor got here first, we tried getting him up with me helping & finally Rick took both ropes, pulled Pepper over & the crisis was over.  Just about that time Roger got here too.  It's great when you have neighbors that will come running if you need them.  I told them I'd keep their numbers, like Rick said he's trained now......!!!! LOL