On call at The Donkey Sanctuary: Jamie Forrest, Veterinary Surgeon

Jamie qualified as a vet from the University of Liverpool in 2019 before working with a range of animals across North and West Yorkshire for 18 months, treating everything from hamsters to shire horses.

Jamie joined The Donkey Sanctuary in March 2021 as part of our veterinary internship programme, which sees recently graduated vets develop further skills in donkey medicine and surgery and gain experience within the equine welfare sector.

Jamie subsequently accepted a position as a full-time veterinary surgeon at The Donkey Sanctuary in January 2022.

Growing up, Jamie always wanted to be a vet and was animal obsessed. James Herriot’s books inspired him as a child, sharing the same first name and both hailing from Sunderland.

As well as being a vet for companion and farm animals, Jamie’s passion for helping working animals saw him complete voluntary work with rescued elephants in Thailand and working equines in Tanzania.

His lifelong love of donkeys, inherited from his grandmother, inspired him to move to Devon to pursue a career with The Donkey Sanctuary, helping both donkeys in the UK and working equids abroad.

Jamie’s main clinical interests are dentistry, neonatology (providing veterinary care to foals) and emergency and critical care. Our vets provide 24-hour emergency care to our donkeys and mules, 365 days a year. Jamie and his colleagues occasionally stay overnight in the hospital to treat sick donkeys through the night.

Recently, Jamie and Senior Veterinary Surgeon Alex Thiemann worked around the clock caring for an elderly piebald donkey called Spinney, who had stopped eating after undergoing dental surgery.

After working closely alongside his dedicated grooms, Spinney started eating and drinking again.

Jamie says: “It was such a relief when he finally started eating. I have never been happier to see an animal eat something! The New Arrivals team did a fantastic job of caring for him 24 hours a day over the weekend, and without their dedication, there is no way Spinney would have made it.

“It was a real team effort in making him recover, and we are all delighted at his progress and his new lease of life.”

Remembering a cherished moment and reflecting on the closeness of the teams across The Donkey Sanctuary, Jamie adds: “A few weeks after his recovery, Spinney’s dedicated grooms brought me a coffee mug with his face on and a handwritten thank you note from Spinney.

“Working closely with different professionals is fantastic and ensures our donkeys receive the best care. We all share the same ethos of putting donkeys first, second and third, and use each other’s knowledge and experience to help.”

The veterinary department at The Donkey Sanctuary includes our experienced donkey vets, specialist veterinary nurses, equine dental technicians, farriers, grooms, behaviourists, nutritionists and a laboratory team, all working together to ensure our donkeys receive the very best care.