Can you help give little Timmy a '˜lifeline?'

Timmy, as he has been named, was born on Wednesday morning to the sanctuary’s rescue donkey ‘Twilight.’

‘Twilight’ was rescued after being found in a forest in South Donegal. She was in a “bad way,” covered in lice and already in foal. It is believed that the trauma she suffered may have contributed to the issues with “beautiful” Timmy’s legs.

The foal has quite a severe problem with the tendons around the fetlock area. The tendons are ‘lax’ and this is preventing him from standing or feeding normally.

Danny Curran, who runs Donegal Donkey Sanctuary, said Timmy is “doing his absolute best” to try and stand and feed by himself

His mum, ‘Twilight’ is also doing all she can to encourage her baby to stand, but it’s a worrying time for the sanctuary.

Timmy will face a lot of hard work in the months ahead but the cost of treatment will be a huge strain on the sanctuary’s finances.

The sanctuary has 30 donkeys on site and 64 in its care. There are around 30 donkeys on the waiting list and when one donkey is re-homed, another goes straight into the sanctuary.

While Timmy will be assessed over the next few weeks and months, his vet bill is expected to be in the region of 3,000 euro or maybe substantially more, depending on how his strength is regained.

The sanctuary is appealing for help from the public to give Timmy a ‘lifeline.’ A Go Fund Me page has been set up for anyone who would like to donate to the cost of vet bills. If you’d like to donate, go to www.gofundme.com/Littletimmy16

Danny said any help at all would be very much appreciated by the sanctuary, which is based in Raphoe.

He described Timmy as a “beautiful little foal” and said they had no idea he would be born with his legs twisted and bent.

He said: “When Twilight came to us she was in a bad way. She had been abandoned in the forest and it took us the best part of a month to encourage her to come out. She wasn’t in a great condition at all and within a day or two we saw she was in foal. But she was doing well and we thought everything was alright. Then, when Timmy was born, we saw the problems with his hind legs. Twilight went through a lot when she was abandoned and Timmy more than likely wasn’t lying properly in the womb. Twilight is absolutely brilliant with him. She tries to help him and encourage him to walk. Timmy is also trying his very best.”

If you’d like to find out more about Donegal Donkey Sanctuary, visit their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/DonegalDonkeySanctuary/