Harry Habibi
Harry Habibi's Adoption
Harry Habibi ('Habibi' means 'darling') was an orphan baby donkey that was left outside the ACE hospital whilst two separate owners argued who's donkey he was! With an uncertain future ahead of him, we admitted him to the hospital until the dispute resolved, so at least he would get fed and looked after in the meantime.
Neither party returned to collect Harry. We managed to get him drinking milk from a bowl and he soon became quite a mischievous character - he would follow everyone around and generally had his nose in everywhere!!
It didn't take long for 'Harry-mania' to begin and people were closely watching the blog and also emailing for updates on the infamous Harry Habibi!
A few weeks after Harry first arrived, a donkey was brought in which was having difficulty giving birth. In the end a cesarean section was needed, to remove the stillborn baby donkey. The surgery went well, but now we had a donkey mother with no foal, and a Harry with no mother!! We thought it would be worth a try to adopt Harry with this donkey - something which Mum definitely was keen on, however, Harry was reluctan
t to leave his human ways!! Luckily, after a few days Harry and Mum were bonded and he was starting to show some affection towards his new Mother!
Despite some complications following the surgery, Mum pulled through beautifully and now is as healthy as can be - with Harry dotingly following at her side! The Mother was very well looked after by her o
wners, and showed no signs of neglect or abuse, so it was decided by ACE to let the owner take Harry home with him - something they were delighted about!!
Despite a minor setback for which both had to return to the hospital for a few days, they are both doing great! A happy ending for both!!
Harry still pops in from time to time, and he is still happy and completely at home here, his first home and family, and we of course love to see how he is growing and developing into a lovely donkey.
Kim Taylor - Co-Founder, and ACE Centre Manager
Zofia Lisowski BVSc MRCVS - Attending Volunteer Vet
