Sometimes our responsibility is offering a last act of kindness.
Saving an animal from a miserable future even though we can not heal them. Bringing them to us just to let them leave this world with dignity and pain free.
Sadly this is the case with Luna. This poor donkey has had what the vet assumed was an accident some years ago and was left without treatment, left to “heal ” in this way. Her entire foot is upside down. When we saw her we had to save her, we had a little hope that maybe, just maybe it was not as bad as it looked. But in our hearts we knew that it was unlikely and x-rays confirmed this. The damage is so far gone it would be impossible to fix with the resources on this island and it is extremely painful. Luna struggled to stand and is always seen laying down, her body is sick, she barely eats, the pain stops her from gaining weight, her eyes are sunken and she doesn’t interact. She is a shell of the donkey she would have once been.
Our only option to end her suffering is to send her over the rainbow bridge experiencing a little compassion, a name , love and caring at the end. It may not be a nice decision. But we know it is the right one. Luna is a “fancy breed” and was kept to breed from. Adding stress and weight to her already broken body. Used as a breeding machine. Maybe we can not save her fully. But we know that somehow we still saved her.
Not only is this a painfully sad experience, we have a bill of around €700 to make it happen. (Buying her, transport, vet bills, x-ray, the passing and body collection) this is the price of a dignified ending. If you can spare a couple of euros we would appreciate this and it allows us to continue offering the last act of kindness when needed.
We can imagine you might want to know more about our point of view on animal euthanasia. You can find more information about it here.
