Nana's last lullaby

Nana was a very special donkey, almost a miracle. Her life, a succession of owners and lack of care, a totally inappropriate existence for such a gentle, beautiful animal. In her 11 years of age she had 16 different owners, the last of which had exchanged her for a moped.

It was a bitter, snowy winter day when she arrived at El Refugio del Burrito. Watching her unload from the lorry was as painful as imagining the life she must have led: her hooves were so overgrown she could hardly stand up, she was quite thin and the shadow of sadness around her eyes told a thousand stories of a living being that had never been truly loved. However, all that was about to change.

Our vets and and farrier made a first assessment and knew straight away her condition was delicate. Nevertheless, as it is our policy at El Refugio del Burrito, it was agreed that every possible treatment would be tried to improve her terrible hoof condition.

Her hooves were trimmed, she was homed in a soft sandy paddock, she started the treatments the vet recommended and, although her hoof situation remained serious, she made improvements and put on some weight. Eventually, after her quarantine period was over, she was moved to a paddock where she met new donkey friends and where her admirable, gentle and extremely sweet character started to flourish.

Then, on 3rd May 2009, she flourished in a way none of us could ever have expected: She gave birth to a beautiful foal. We will never forget that Sunday morning, Spanish Mother's Day in fact, when, out of the blue, a trembling, still wet and awkward but beautiful little mare came out of Nana's stable to explore the world making us all amazed at nature's ways, bringing happy tears to our eyes. Nana, the donkey named after a lullaby, now had the chance to sing one every night to her wonderful, healthy baby. The foal was named Alicia following a contest in which many children suggested names for her.

Unfortunately, in the middle of all this happiness, Nana's hoof problems remained a cruel reality and we couldn't know how long she would be with us.

Our vets have been doing their best ever since, as we wanted Alicia to grow up beside her mother and Nana to enjoy the opportunity of being a mother herself. In spite of her condition, the past year and a half, Nana has had a happy life with her beloved baby and Alicia has had the chance to spend crucial, quality time with her mother.

Sadly, over the past few weeks Nana's condition got a lot worse and we knew she was only living on borrowed time. On the 1st September 2010 we had to make one of the hardest decisions we have ever faced at El Refugio del Burrito. We all knew it was Nana's time to go, but letting go of an animal that means so much to all of us is never easy. In the end we had no choice, her condition had gotten that bad in spite of all our efforts and she was put to sleep.

Alicia, now a fully grown donkey who is well integrated in a group of young mares like herself, was given the time and opportunity to be with her mother as she left us peacefully.

We are sure during those last few moments it was Alicia who now whispered in her mother's ears a sweet, last lullaby.

Rest in peace, gentle friend.

If you want to keep helping donkeys like Nana find the love and care they lack, please vist our ways to help pgae to find out how many ways you can contribute to our work.

Thank you for helping us help them.