Donkey with grapefruit sized sarcoid arrives at Donkey Sanctuary

Thursday, 31 March 2011 08:58

Animal Friends has heard that a two-year-old donkey with a sarcoid the size of a large grapefruit has arrived at The Donkey Sanctuary. Burt has a large skin tumour on his elbow, which progressed at an "alarming" rate. It is hanging off by threads of tissue and bleeding constantly.

"Burt's sarcoid first appeared in December but it was very small and didn't bleed," Burt's owner told the Sanctuary. "It didn't appear to affect him but after a few weeks it suddenly became the size of a golf ball, then a small orange — it bled and it just continued to grow.

"We made the heart-breaking decision to hand Burt and his friend, Jacko, over to The Donkey Sanctuary at the end of last month, where Burt could be treated by the veterinary team."

Vet Elena Barrio from the Donkey Sanctuary said: "This is a very large sarcoid and it is seems fairly aggressive. The treatment will be on-going but we are hopeful that Burt will make a full recovery and will enjoy spending the rest of his life in our care.

All of us here at Animal Friends sincerely hope that Burt can recover, as we know that the Donkey Sanctuary will be able to properly care for him. Hopefully we can keep you updated on Burt and his time at the DOnkey Sanctuary, so come back to Animal Friends at a later date for the latest news.