Ashley makes astounding recovery after surgery

In late December last year, Ashley’s grooms noticed that his left eye had started to become half-closed and weepy. On closer inspection, it was discovered he had a deep corneal ulcer.

We spoke with Laura Attwood, Farm Supervisor at our Sidmouth sanctuary, to talk about Ashley’s treatment and his journey to recovery.

Ashley’s treatment

After initial treatment was unable to resolve the issue, Ashley and his friend Christian travelled to our donkey hospital in early January. Here, the vets gave Ashley a course of eye drops and kept him comfortable with pain relief. But despite Ashley’s high spirits, his eye didn’t respond in the way we hoped, meaning that we were unable to successfully treat the ulcer.

Ashley’s health and happiness were our top priorities, and to allow him to continue to live his life to the fullest it was decided that the best thing to do was to remove his eye. Thankfully, with Christian by his side, the operation was a complete success!

Shortly after the operation, our vets put a fly mask on Ashley. This helped protect his operated-on area from any knocks as he adapted to life with one eye. Thankfully, Ashley has healed fantastically well, and we are optimistic that he will still lead a happy, fulfilled life going forward.

A second operation

During the initial course of treatment on Ashley’s eye at his shelter, two small lumps were also discovered on his underbelly. These lumps were later diagnosed as sarcoids, which are locally invasive skin tumours that can be fatal if left untreated. It was of paramount importance that the sarcoids were safely removed as quickly as possible.

Once he had recovered from the surgery to remove his eye, and with Christian by his side once more, Ashley had a second operation that saw our veterinary surgeons expertly remove the sarcoids.

The procedure went smoothly, and during Ashley’s recovery the pair were given plenty of love and attention from the veterinary nurses.

On the road to recovery

Ashley got used to having one eye during the time he and Christian spent at the hospital. Soon after, the pair returned to Sidmouth where they had been missed by their herd! Thankfully, Ashley has reintegrated into life at the sanctuary splendidly. You wouldn’t know he had anything wrong with him – he still follows his grooms around and tips over their wheelbarrows!

Thanks to your support, we can give Ashley all the love and care he deserves to ensure he has a bright future ahead of him. Thank you.