Pasture Pals Equine Rescue

Eli, Foaled 1995, 15.2 hand (62 inches), 818lbs (4/30/21) , Black, Mammoth Donkey, Gelding

This sweet boy is the biggest donkey Alex has had the pleasure to meet in person! Eli's owners were both in the hospital when I got the call from their daughter. She lives in Florida and her parents were not expected to return home. She knew she had to find someplace for Eli and his little donkey companions Pepe and Cletus. There was no time for looking for a new home. Unfortunately, one of the owners passed away on Saturday and the placement became even more urgent. So we came to get them on 4/21/20.

Eli has a few issues. The vet says he is "morbidly obese" and needs to be on a serious diet immediately. Along with that he has some pretty bad summer sores along with sweet itch, rain rot and lice. His coat is badly matted and he is very uncomfortable. Good thing is all of those things are fixable! He is extremely sweet and loves to be rubbed on. But Eli is afraid of everything including the meds we need to put on his summer sores! It will take a lot of short sections of working on the mats to get the old matted hair off and see what is underneath. Also he is terrified of the sound of a spray bottle and scissors, we will be working with creams to try to clear up most of his sores and get his skin conditions under control as well as the bugs!

Eli needs a lot of physical rehabilitation as well as training. He loves scratches and ear rubs and talks to us while we are getting his feed, but he runs scared of everything! Desensitizing and slow methodical care is needed for this amazing boy! We worked with Eli a lot and had to put him in the shoot to get him still enough to treat all of his sores and get him groomed properly. He never offered to kick or bite, even though he was scared to death. Eli is such a good boy and is getting better every day!

Eli needs your help! He needs a vet evaluation and meds to heal his old summer sores and possibly remove a growth on his armpit. Eli's summer sores have healed nicely, unfortunately we still have to keep an eye out for them because his healing skin is still thin. His hair has grown back in all of his bald spots and he is looking shiny and healthy now. We do not believe we will need to remove the fatty tuner he has on his side, but we will continue to monitor it to be sure it is not growing or causing any pain. We are still working on his weight issues, because well he is a food thief! Eli is working on learning some ground manners and being desensitized to everything! The only things he ever knew were in the back yard of his owner's house, so you can imagine how new and sometimes overwhelming things can be. Isn't Eli the most handsome giant donkey you've ever seen! He is such a love bug!

Eli is now our Greeter and absolutely loves the Open House events the third weekend of each month, when he gets to mug everyone for their cookies and love of all the babies! Eli needs a sponsor for his care and a dedicated volunteer to work with him! To learn more about Eli, check out his photo album on Facebook. Can you help us help more donkeys like Eli?

Adopt, Volunteer, Sponsor, Donate!