Adoption Status: Not Available.

When we received a call about rehoming a mini donkey, it seemed like a very straightforward case. A family could no longer care for their pet and needed a new home. While this isn’t typically a case we would take, we planned to help the owner rehome an animal that should easily find a new home. Simple, right?

Well, it turned out to be anything but simple. We knew about some summer sores he had and we believed we could handle them and then find a loving forever home. But then the pictures came that shocked all of us and Stormy’s case was no longer a simple “resolve the summer sores and rehome”.

We knew we would be facing hefty vet bills. Even then, his future was uncertain. It’s a case no one would want to take. But it suddenly became a necessary rescue mission.

In an unprecedented move, Stormy was transported directly from his old home to the hospital after our veterinary team reviewed photos of his wounds. His sheath was deformed to an extent we had never seen and the vet suspected it might be cancerous. Stormy spent the first two weeks of his rescue at the hospital while we waited for the assessment, testing, and results. Thankfully, the biopsy was benign and we went to work treating a terrible case of summer sores gone wild.

Thankfully our amazing volunteers nursed Stormy’s sores and they resolved, but we then learned he’s metabolic, likely due to the poor nutrition he was receiving at his prior home with an inexperienced owner. Without a dry lot (pasture without grass) to keep Stormy from grazing on grass that was bad for his health due to the sugar content, we fitted him with a grazing muzzle that allows him to drink water and eat small bits of grass to control his sugar intake. At first, he made his displeasure with his muzzle very obvious. He did what he could to avoid having it put on his head. But when he realized he wasn’t getting out of his stall without it on, he gradually adapted and now he’s a great example for other equine owners that being metabolic doesn’t mean an equine can’t still have a great quality of life. He’s living his best life – with a grazing muzzle on.

Over the course of Stormy’s recovery, he stole the hearts of our team and he became a permanent resident. We call him our barn manager and he has the run of the property. He welcomes all the newcomers, both human and equine, and now the barn just wouldn’t be the same without this special, funny character.