Donkeys need a friend and they should be adopted in pairs. Hilary the donkey must have been so lonely!
We learned from the Huffington Post that this donkey has been living on a small island on Lake McLure in California for two years. Two years!
"After being stranded alone on a small patch of land in the middle of a California lake for around two years, the wild equine has been rescued and is settling in at a facility near Sacramento that is run by Texas-based nonprofit Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue."
Why did this take so long and how did the donkey get stuck?
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, there was a lot of red tape.
"The wild donkey got stuck on the 1.3-acre island about two years ago. Previously, she and her herd had spent time in the dried-out bed of Mariposa County's Lake McLure, but heavy rains caused the lake to fill up again and turn the patch of high ground into an island. Hillary got left behind when her herd-mates went back to the mainland, apparently at least in part due to her injured leg. The rising water meant she was stuck there alone ? a sad fate for a social animal like a donkey."
Private citizens had plans to move her but state officials got in the way of any rescue attempts. The Department of Fish and Wildlife finally came up with a plan to move her by boat. They decided not to integrate her with the existing herd as they were concerned she'd be rejected.
"The Department of Fish and Wildlife's Bob Stafford told HuffPost last week that the agency decided to send Hillary to the rescue group because of the worry that she would be rejected by her herd due to her injury."
The donkey is now under the care of a vet for a front leg injury but she's being moved into an area with other special needs donkeys.
Thank goodness Hilary is safe and now at a farm rescue sanctuary where she'll be taken care of!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NHXh5S2ynI
Two years is way too long for this donkey to be stuck anywhere!
Know someone who would like to add livestock? Tell us in the comments below!
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