Rosie, the donkey savaged by a dog, receives lifesaving treatment and justice
El Refugio del Burrito saved the life of a donkey that was repeatedly attacked and savaged by a dog. Five years later, the charity also does justice on her name.
Rosie, the 17-year-old donkey was found badly underweight with wounds all over her body including deep bite marks on her bottom that exposed muscle.
Her owner had allowed his dog to repeatedly attack the donkey and then do nothing to treat her wounds. He has subsequently been jailed for animal abuse.
When Rosie was first discovered she was in such a bad state that vets were concerned that she wouldn’t survive her ordeal.
Rosie had been kept in a pen next to a dog that had repeatedly attacked her for weeks. Her owner failed to provide any veterinary treatment to ease her pain and suffering.
Following a tip off from a concerned member of the public, The Donkey Sanctuary’s Spanish centre (El Refugio del Burrito) worked with local authorities to get permission for a vet to examine Rosie. The donkey was in such a bad state that she was immediately removed from the location in Valencia, Spain and taken to a veterinary hospital for urgent treatment in Alicante
Nicky Cohen, Donkey Welfare Advisor, who led Rosie’s rescue, said: “As soon as we found out about Rosie we knew she needed urgent help to save her life. After working hard with local authorities to gain access to her, we sent a vet to assess the extent of her injuries. She was in a dire situation. Not only did she have wounds so deep that muscle was exposed, but she was malnourished, extremely weak, and had very high pulse rate.
Nicky continued: “Rosie had been let down by the person who should have cared for her the most – it should never have got this far, but in her time of need, we were going to do everything we could to save her life.”
Rosie spent 10 days in intensive care and a further 15 days in hospital for further treatment. Here she went through a gruelling programme of regular wound cleaning and the removal of dead tissue as well as drug treatment in an attempt to get her back on her feet.
She was also given all necessary routine treatments that her owner had failed to provide, including dental and farriery work on her hooves and vaccinations.
She was later tr