A Sad Passing + a fresh Sense of purpose at Animal Nepal’s Sanctuary

At Animal Nepal’s sanctuary in Dukuchhap, 2025 ended in sadness due to the passing of much-loved resident, Shakti. Thankfully, the other rescued animals are all well, comfortable and happy.

Read their recent update to see the huge difference your compassionate support is making:

As we approached the end of 2025, we did so with a deep sense of gratitude following yet another year of helping so many animals with your support. However, 2025 ended on a sad note as we lost our dear Shakti on the 29th of December.

After being diagnosed with kidney disease few months ago, our vets were managing her condition and at times it seemed she was improving. However, her condition started to deteriorate, so our vets had to make the difficult decision to put her to sleep. Until the very last moment, Shakti was surrounded by those who loved and cared for her deeply. She passed away peacefully.

Shakti came to the sanctuary as a foal back in 2010, along with her mum, Mukti. Both had been rescued from a brick kiln in Lalitpur. Mukti passed away soon after she arrived, as she had multiple health complications. In her 15 years with us, Shakti thrived and was loved by all. She had a really sweet, gentle nature. Because of her calm and trusting personality, Shakti played a special role in our educational work. Over the years, she participated in many teaching sessions for interns, thereby helping future veterinarians in Nepal learn about equine health, handling, and welfare. We miss her immensely but also feel so thankful that most of her life was spent in comfort and without suffering.

We are also keeping a close eye on her friends Moksh and Honey. In the past, we have had incidents where, following the passing of one resident, their best friend has followed soon afterwards due to heartbreak. We want to make sure that does not happen this time and, so far, all is well and they are behaving normally.

Our senior horse Markhu is going well. He spends most of his time sunbathing, which he absolutely loves, especially during the winter. He is eating and drinking well and our vets continue to provide care for him to make sure he is not suffering or in pain with his tendonitis. They are keeping a close eye on him currently.

January is the coldest month in Nepal, so we are making some new jackets for our residents. This is especially important for the older animals. This year, we decided to make them from blankets as the material is warmer, cheaper and easier for us to tailor as needed.

All of our other residents are doing well and enjoying each other’s company.

Our bulls, Kumari and Prawin, and buffaloes, Lakshmi and Aashu, are growing into giants, but they are averse to conflict so they are literally gentle giants! Lakshmi is quite wary of humans but she tends to like all the other animals.

As we welcome another new year, we do so with a renewed sense of purpose. We remain deeply grateful for the support from Animal Aid Abroad, which enables us to provide lifelong care, comfort, and medical treatment for our rescued and retired working animals.