Hi!

Do you know if ferrets like horse-hoof/ donkey-hoof parings the way
dogs do???? Givem their human-foot fetish, I would think so.

Here's an update from a couple of weeks ago about the donkey in our
neighborhood. In a little while, I'll write about the most recent two
weeks.
- - -

Things are going very well for Edilegna, the abandoned donkey. He's up
and about and walking around an area of a few "blocks." He does spend
much more time than usual for a donkey lying down, and he slips when
getting up, but I am hoping that that is due to his bad front feet and
left knee -- and to the shiny red tape around the big bandage on his
operated hoof/foot.

Dr Challa came back yesterday to check Edelegna out, bringing Dr
Alemayehu, the head of the Donkey Trust here in Ethiopa. They were
amazed and pleased. They unwrapped the hoof, remedicated it, and
rebandaged it. There's no more talk of euthanasia, and they wont be
taking him into the program since he couldn't work again and since I
offerred to take him on.

We named him Edilegn, which means Lucky - maybe a little cliched, but
nothing could be truer in terms of what's going on for him right now.

Since yesterday, he has come to recognize me as a source of good
things -- like a bit of bread or enjera or a sort of fritter. I wrap
his daily Rx powder in enjera, and he gobbles it. The Rx is a combo
antibio, anti-infammant, and pain killer. I bet that it wasn't only
his foot that had him near to collapse -- probably a massive parasite
infestation too -- and that the antibiotics and ivermectin were very
important. On the other hand, his foot was terribly infected.

It is great to see the change -- makes me very happy. I certainly
wonder what he makes of what's happening to him.

To subvert anyone's ideas of taking him away to work him despite his
condition, I painted the ends of his little sticking-up mane and tail
bright blue and white! People in the neighborhood know he is my donkey,
so anyone who tried to take him off would be highly visible.

The whole thing has another great value -- the neighborhood now knows
about the Donkey Trust, and presumably will talk abuot the odd things
that have been happening -- our ferenji woman brought in animal doctors
for a damaged donkey! In the other direction, I've agreed to email the
UK center and describe the Ethiopian branch's activity re Edilegna.

After the donkey's bad hoof is cured, the vets will pare the hoof of
the deformed leg. That hoof has grown far too long for good balance and
it must be putting more strain on the bad leg -- which is twisted to
the side at the knee, and the knee is a big round ball. I'm assuming
that the vets think that he is not or will not be in serious pain with
that leg after they finish their treatment, or they would be still
talking euthanasia.

This weekend, we'll brush him, which will mean bringing him into the
yard for awhile. I wonder what the other animals will make of him. They
do all smell my hands when I come into the house after having touched
him. Jonas, my oldest and most interactive ferret, seems to think it is
interesting. David, one of the "new" ferrets does too. I was going to
bring a piece of pared hoof home for the dogs -- and ferrets -- but
since there was so much infection, I dropped that idea. When I was a
kid, we had an old horse, and the dogs went nuts over the parings when
the blacksmith came to replace the horse's shoes. I am pretty sure that
the ferrets will go bananas too, given their love of human feet. When
the donkey's healthy hoof is pared, I'll wash the parings and perform
that experiment.

I am not keeping the donkey in our yard because it is pretty small and
almost entirely paved with cement. I imagine he would find it a prison
(sometimes I do myself, having such a need gffor green and trees).
Apparently Edilegna wouldn't eat all the plants if he had hay and some
grain product, but I still think it is better for him to be able to
roam around a little. The neighborhood people say that the hyenas are
not a problem, and he's been hanging around for about a year now, so
he must consider the neighborhood home.

We have a neighborhood horse and some cows that belong to different
people and mostly live their lives wandering around. It is a real treat
to have them as regular inhabitants. It's a pretty perky area. The
horse travels far and wide -- we find him in all sorts of places. He is
said to be a biter, but I haven't actually seen that. He's a handsome
animal with a black mane and tail and gorgeous light brown body.

[Posted in FML 6871]