Farewell Madalina
Posted on 1 August 2018.Today we say goodbye to an old lady, one of the first donkeys coming into our care: Madalina left us on 12 July, due to a severe gaseous colic that had hit her the day before. Despite a slight improvement in the night had made us hope for the recovery of that old warrior, the therapies were useless: the colic was too severe and the years (30) she had to bear where perhaps too many to overcome such a serious attack.
Madalina had been among the first donkeys to arrive at our Rifugio: she had been saved in Romania, pregnant despite her already advanced age, and here she had given birth to the unforgettable Iole. For years they had lived together, only the two of them, to protect the fragile daughter from the impetuosity of the other donkeys; they had been separated for a while and then they had found themselves again, in the old donkeys group.
Madalina, with her characteristic sagging lip, loved tranquility, was sometimes a bit shrew and went crazy for food. Still the morning when she was struck by the colic she kicked away all her companions to be the first to reach the bucket: when the groom saw that she had not touched the food, they immediately realized that something was wrong. Unfortunately, the timely arrival of the vet and the therapies that lasted for a whole day were not enough.
With her, another piece of our history has gone. Thanks to those who, in recent years, greeted her with a caress and to those who, supporting our work for donkeys, have allowed us to give her a serene old age.