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]