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 transferred to a El Refugio del Burrito holding base in Almeria to continue her recovery. Including further surgery to correct the largest wound on her bottom.
Nacho Aguilar-Sebastian, veterinary surgeon, who treated Rosie, said: “Rosie came to us in very bad condition – it was obvious that she had been mistreated and had not received the necessary care. There was no guarantee that the treatments would work for Rosie. Her condition was particularly severe, and the treatment plan was long and necessarily invasive.”
In February 2020, five years after Rosie’s ordeal, her owner was found guilty of a crime of animal abuse, outlined in the Penal Code, article 337.1. The crime was allowing his dog to continually maul his donkey and not intervene nor provide her with the veterinary attention and treatment she needed.
He was sentenced to nine months in prison and also disqualified from keeping animals for two years and ordered to re-pay El Refugio del Burrito the full costs of treating Rosie.
“The judge now condemns him understanding that there was an "inaction" from his part, since these injuries required disinfection, surgical treatment, antibiotics, anti-inflammatories and corrective surgery. In fact, if the animal would not have received veterinary attention, the animal would have died.” Says Rosa Chaparro,
The accused has always defended that he did not know the seriousness of the animal's condition and that he intended to call a veterinarian. Even in a first trial held in 2018, he was absolved of the crime of animal abuse by considering that he was not aware of the serious state of the donkey, nor that he consciously allowed it to be bitten by any of the other two animals.
However, thanks to the persistence of the Valencia Public Prosecutor's Office and the NGO 'El Refugio del Burrito', the Valencia Provincial Court estimated the appeal and even pointed out that there was sufficient evidence to pass a condemnatory sentence. Thus, he ordered the trial to be repeated by emphasizing that “the motivation and assessment of the evidence was not adequate in terms of the conclusion that the accused could not know the state of the donkey 'Rosie', both because of the manifest loss of weight as for the obvious wounds, which he tried to treat without notifying the veterinary services”- says the final sentences.
The Judge also agrees on the final confiscation of Rosie. Which means that, after 5 long years, the donkey officially becomes owned by the NGO and she will be able to continue enjoying its retirement life in the Refugio del Burrito, the largest sanctuary of donkeys and mules in Spain.
On the sentencing of Rosie’s owner, Nicky, Donkey Welfare Advisor, said: “When I received the news of a guilty verdict I couldn’t put into words the joy and relief I felt! We had been fighting this case for a long time and had appealed the previous decision, which did not find the owner guilty.
“There is no excuse for a donkey to suffer as much as Rosie has, there are so many resources and help available to donkey owners via El Refugio del Burrito, it should never happen.
“Our sweet, gentle Rosie will now have a life free from suffering at El Refugio del Burrito where she with receive all the love and care she deserves.”
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