Telerin saved from a lethal wound
After two weeks of dedication, teamwork and expert care, we have managed to save the life of Telerin, a rescue donkey suffering from open, infected wounds and an enormous gash from one side of his abdomen to the other.
Our Welfare team was contacted last month by a lady who initially saved Telerin from being sent to the slaughterhouse. The person who took Telerin in was unable to keep him as, despite his sweet nature, he was a stallion donkey surrounded by females, she had limited space and the situation wasn’t sustainable.
We helped find a potential adopter for Telerin. However when his adopter arrived, he was horrified to see that Telerin had a recent enormous gash from one side of his abdomen to the other, and horrific open and infected wounds on his genitals that had maggots crawling inside.
Telerin had cut himself on a barbed wirefence while trying to jump to reach other female donkeys at the property. This type of fencing is not appropriate for equines, and it is important that males should be castrated if they are not going to be dedicated for breeding.
Coral Ruiz, our Donkey Welfare Adviser, says: “I was able to speak to Telerin’s temporary carer, and explained how concerning his condition was. She told me that paying for treatment was impossible. She had already done what she could to help rescue Telerin from the slaughterhouse but she clearly did not have a proper, safe place for him to recover from the injury. I felt that we couldn’t leave Telerin in her current situation, and told her that we needed to make a decision about his future immediately."
We sent our vet to visit as a matter of urgency, where he sedated Telerin to provide initial emergency treatment. The vet said Telerin’s wounds were so serious, parts of his genitals may have needed to be amputated. It was obvious that Telerin required hospital treatment immediately.
Telerin has now been in hospital for two weeks, having been castrated and receiving daily medical attention for his infected wounds. The hospital team have been assessing his need for more invasive surgery and we are very relieved that thanks to the intensive care he has received and his successful recovery so far, it seems unlikely that the amputation will be necessary.
We are hoping that in the coming days, Telerin will be able to leave hospital and be transported to our sanctuary, where we can provide him with the necessary aftercare until he is ready to go to his new (awaiting) adoption home, a wonderful home in the hills of Ronda (Malaga) where he will be leaving with other equids.
We are very grateful as always to surgeon David Arguelles and his marvellous team at Cordoba Hospital, who expressed mixed feelings about Telerin leaving as “he is such a sweet gentle donkey and they will miss him a lot!”
We need now to cover 2,500 Euros from hospitalisation, treatment and transport and your support is much needed. Any contribution is highly appreciated.
Thanks to your support, we are able to provide the highest standard of veterinary care to donkeys in need. For donkeys like Telerin, this gives them the chance to live out the rest of their days in the comfort of a home. The inexcusable condition which we found Telerin in is now just a memory, and he can look forward to a future of grazing pasture with his new friends.
We can only continue to rescue and care for donkeys with your help, so please continue to support the work of El Refugio del Burrito, as together, we can make a big difference.