This poor donkey would have died of exhaustion, but 12,000 loving people made sure he lives

A poor donkey, a beast of burden utterly neglected by his owner in Segorbe, Spain would have died of acute exhaustion if 12000 loving people wouldn’t have stood for him.

The poor donkey had a canine companion whose situation was also the same. When police came to know about them, it immediately confiscated the dog and sent it to a rescue organisation but could do nothing for the donkey.

It was then that some compassionate soul came forward anonymously to help the donkey and called  El Refugio del Burrito (RDB). “On 10th of March, when El Refugio del Burrito got an anonymous call reporting the terrible physical condition of this animal. The owner (apparently suffering from Diogenes syndrome) usually makes him pull a cart full of scrap from town to town,” explained a statement on RDB’s website.

When RDB spotted him, he was suffering from severe malnutrition, dehydration and hoof infection. He had wounds all over his body that were caused by his owner using inappropriate harnesses on him and he also suffered from internal and external serious parasite infections. He was on the verge of a total collapse!

     

 “It is frustrating that, although both animals are protected under the same law, and it is very clear on how to act when the life of an animal is at risk, we still find that authorities hesitate,” Veronica Sanchez, country manager for RDB, said in a statement. “This is a negligence and omission of duty.”

When nothing seemed to be working for the donkey, RDB had contacted both the local police and the local court, the organisation decided to seek public support through an online campaign on change.org and it worked!

“Giving the passivity of the authorities regarding the suffering of the animal, which considered it a non-urgent matter, we decided to start a sign-up campaign to rescue this poor donkey,” said the statement.

In 13 hours, RDB was able to gather the support of 12,600 people who were asking the local authorities to immediately locate the donkey and rescue him to a safe location where RDB can provide him medical attention.

“The next morning at 8.00 am members of SEPRONA (Spanish flora and fauna police) called us to coordinate the rescue of this donkey. The donkey, who has been named Vida (Life in Spain) is now safe and having treatment by equine experts,” said RDB in its statement. ” In addition to taking care of Vida, we will also carry out the prosecution of the case.”