Rescue & Adoptions

Healthcare with Heart Stories

Against All Odds

In the "food animal" industry, animals do not receive individualized veterinary care — they are often only seen by industry veterinarians who develop procedures and medications to maximize production, not treat the source of the animals’ medical condition. At Farm Sanctuary, animals receive round-the-clock health care including routine preventative care, daily, weekly and monthly health checks on every individual animal, and special needs treatments.

When beautiful Bonnie was unloaded from an Animal Control trailer one cold morning in the winter of 1995, the staff at our California Shelter couldn't believe their eyes. Poor Bonnie, a victim of horrific neglect, could barely stand or walk. The hooves on all four of her feet had each overgrown by eleven inches or more, and were curled underneath her so far that they were hitting the backs of her legs. She struggled to keep her balance enough to simply remain upright. In order to attempt a step she had to cautiously lift each foot high off the ground, set her mangled hoof down and then try to regain balance all over again. Bonnie's hair was missing in huge patches, and she was crawling with lice.

The Animal Control officers explained that Bonnie had been confiscated from a private home, where she had been confined to a 10' x 15' paddock, apparently for her entire life. There was no shelter and no proper drainage for her area. She was found standing in mud and manure up to her knees.

When our veterinarian arrived later that first morning with a portable x-ray machine and hoof trimming equipment, he was astounded at her condition. He determined that Bonnie was between four and five years old, and was certain that her hooves had never been trimmed or maintained at all. We carefully cradled Bonnie as the massive excess hoof was cut away from each of her feet. All four feet had severe hoof rot, and Bonnie quietly underwent lengthy treatments without complaint — as if she knew she would be well cared for and was finally safe.

The x-rays showed that due to this extreme overgrowth of Bonnie's hooves during the growth stage of her life, the bones in all four of her feet had malformed and were rotated and seriously deformed. Her x-rays were sent to equine experts at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, in hopes that she would be a candidate for orthopedic surgery to correct the deformities. The veterinarians there exclaimed that Bonnie's condition was the worst of this type they had ever seen, and unfortunately warned that invasive surgery would only aggravate her condition and might do further damage. They asked if Bonnie was able to walk at all, and when we replied that she could — surprisingly well, in fact — they felt that was the best we could hope for and it would be wise to leave it at that. They gave Bonnie a grim prognosis of 2-3 years to live before her feet would deteriorate even further and she wouldn't be able to support her weight.

But precious Bonnie has proven them all wrong! She has now lived many years longer than expected, and just grows stronger and healthier as the years go by. Bonnie spends most of her time with her donkey friend Waylon, with whom she bonded from the very beginning. It is a joy to spot the two of them on the ridge tops, braying loudly and chasing each other. Though she might be a wee bit slower than Waylon, her four funny little feet sure can move!