Rescue & Adoptions
Healthcare with Heart Stories
Against All Odds
 In
the "food animal" industry, animals do not receive individualized
veterinary care — they are often only seen by industry veterinarians
who develop procedures and medications to maximize production, not
treat the source of the animals’ medical condition. At Farm
Sanctuary, animals receive round-the-clock health care including
routine preventative care, daily, weekly and monthly health checks
on every individual animal, and special needs treatments.
When beautiful Bonnie was unloaded from an Animal Control trailer
one cold morning in the winter of 1995, the staff at our California
Shelter couldn't believe their eyes. Poor Bonnie, a victim of
horrific neglect, could barely stand or walk. The hooves on all
four of her feet had each overgrown by eleven inches or more, and
were curled underneath her so far that they were hitting the backs
of her legs. She struggled to keep her balance enough to simply
remain upright. In order to attempt a step she had to cautiously
lift each foot high off the ground, set her mangled hoof down and
then try to regain balance all over again. Bonnie's hair was missing
in huge patches, and she was crawling with lice.
The Animal Control officers explained that Bonnie had been confiscated
from a private home, where she had been confined to a 10' x 15'
paddock, apparently for her entire life. There was no shelter and
no proper drainage for her area. She was found standing in mud and
manure up to her knees.
When our veterinarian arrived later that first morning with a portable
x-ray machine and hoof trimming equipment, he was astounded at her
condition. He determined that Bonnie was between four and five years
old, and was certain that her hooves had never been trimmed or maintained
at all. We carefully cradled Bonnie as the massive excess hoof was
cut away from each of her feet. All four feet had severe hoof rot,
and Bonnie quietly underwent lengthy treatments without complaint
— as if she knew she would be well cared for and was finally
safe.
The x-rays showed that due to this extreme overgrowth of Bonnie's
hooves during the growth stage of her life, the bones in all four
of her feet had malformed and were rotated and seriously deformed.
Her x-rays were sent to equine experts at UC Davis School of Veterinary
Medicine, in hopes that she would be a candidate for orthopedic
surgery to correct the deformities. The veterinarians there exclaimed
that Bonnie's condition was the worst of this type they had ever
seen, and unfortunately warned that invasive surgery would only
aggravate her condition and might do further damage. They asked
if Bonnie was able to walk at all, and when we replied that she
could — surprisingly well, in fact — they felt that was
the best we could hope for and it would be wise to leave it at that.
They gave Bonnie a grim prognosis of 2-3 years to live before her
feet would deteriorate even further and she wouldn't be able to
support her weight.
 But
precious Bonnie has proven them all wrong! She has now lived many
years longer than expected, and just grows stronger and healthier
as the years go by. Bonnie spends most of her time with her donkey
friend Waylon, with whom she bonded from the very beginning. It
is a joy to spot the two of them on the ridge tops, braying loudly
and chasing each other. Though she might be a wee bit slower than
Waylon, her four funny little feet sure can move!
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