Gentle Wollie Can Finally Retire in Peaceful Sanctuary

Blind Love in South Africa recently rescued a beautiful, elderly donkey called Wollie and welcomed him to their sanctuary. He will retire there following a lifetime of hard work and is estimated to be 40 years old!

In addition, the team treated 16 donkeys and 104 horses during their outreach days.

Wollie’s Rescue

On the 3rd of July, Blind Love welcomed a very old donkey to live out the rest of his days at their sanctuary. His owner had agreed to let him retire. He had a sore, swollen, arthritic fetlock joint which needed treatment, so Dr Annie put him on a course of antibiotics. Dr Annie estimated he is around 40 years old!

He has very few top teeth so he is on a special diet of soaked pellets, high fibre meal and lucerne chaff. He gets six smaller meals spread throughout the day, and is also given grated carrot, apple, cucumber and a strawberry jam sandwich! His name is Wol Sak, which translates to Wool Sack in Afrikaans, but staff call him Wollie.

Wollie is beginning to settle into the sanctuary nicely. It’s taken him a while as he was very shutdown towards humans - flinching when someone went near his head and tucking his tail in expecting to be beaten if someone walked behind him. But he is slowly responding, his old eyes lighting up and his ears pricking when he sees his favourite staff members. 

Donkey Outreach Activities

A donkey outreach day was held on the 19th of July, when the weather was bitterly cold with a howling, icy wind blowing. Turnout was lower than usual, with just 16 donkeys attending. The people present said the other owners had probably all stayed in bed because of the cold!

The team treated a donkey who had a big piece of sharp wood in her hoof. It looked liked it had been there for a very long time as the hoof had actually grown around it so the donkey was not lame anymore. It was easily removed and the team cleaned it out, sprayed it with antibiotic spray and left some of this with the owner to continue to treat it.

Blind Love saw another donkey who had been stabbed on his back about three years ago. The stab wound had long since healed, but the owner was concerned about a big lump that had developed lower down. It was not sore or bothering the donkey in any way. The team sent a video of it to veterinarian, Dr Annie, and she said it was a hernia and that nothing needed to be done.

The team handed out another batch of humane harnesses, along with some brand new donkey-size bridles with blinkers that had been donated. The owners were very impressed with these!

Working Horses Outreach Activities

It was a busy month again for the Agripreneur Team, who held seven outreach days for working horses. A total of 102 horses attended, and all were checked and treated.

During the outreach in Botshabelo, the team conducted farrier activities including trimming all the horses’ hooves and providing shoes for any animals who needed them. They also treated harness-related rub wounds on shoulders and saddle sores from bareback riding after working hours. The team have 18 new harnesses to be distributed to horse owners in the coming weeks.

Blind Love are brainstorming how to more effectively engage horse owners in Thaba’nchu because, despite their best efforts, they are still not seeing any great improvements in the horses’ welfare. The horses in Botshabelo are in much better condition and have far more engaged, proactive owners. These owners in Botshabelo have stated they are willing to help educate horse owners in Thaba’nchu, which might be a step in the right direction.

With your wonderful ongoing support, Blind Love can continue running their essential programs for working donkeys and horses in South Africa. Your kind donations also mean rescued donkeys like gentle Wollie can finally receive all the love, safety and care they deserve.