Dave Corbin

🕯️💔 My baby Pongo is gone. And a piece of my heart has gone with him. 🕯️ I don't know how to write this. I don't know how to accept that my beautiful boy, my baby, is no longer here. Pongo was just two days old when he came into my life. A terrible thunderstorm had separated him from his mother. We never discovered what happened to her. I raised him like a mother raises her child. He wasn't like other donkeys. He grew up in my office, surrounded by dogs, following me everywhere like a little puppy. ❤️ He was everyone's baby. The doctors adored him. Our entire team spoiled him rotten. Whenever he wanted milk, he would call out loudly until someone came running. And someone always did. For so long, he didn't even know life outside our little world. Only when he was much older did he finally move to live among the other donkeys. For over two beautiful years, Pongo was my child. 🫏❤️ Then, suddenly, he became ill. His blood tests revealed two dangerous blood parasites, Babesia and Theileria. We immediately began treatment. We tested his blood twice, desperately trying to understand why he was deteriorating so rapidly. Our veterinary team tried everything they could. But nothing seemed to help. He was slipping away from us frighteningly fast. 💔 Two days before he died, I held him tightly in my arms and cried. I kept begging him: Please get better. Please, Pongo. You're Mummy's whole world. You have to get better. You cannot leave Mummy. Somewhere deep inside, I was terrified that I was losing him. But I couldn't bear to believe it. And today, my beautiful boy left me. 💔 The little baby who followed me everywhere. The mischievous boy who demanded his milk. The darling of our doctors, our team, and my heart. I cannot imagine walking into my office knowing he will never come running towards me again. Today, I am sharing some of our precious memories with you. The little moments that meant everything to me, and now mean even more. I have spent my life rescuing animals, loving them, fighting for them. But some losses break you in ways words cannot explain. Pongo, my baby, Mummy tried so hard. I wanted so desperately to save you. You came into my life as a tiny, motherless newborn. I promised to be your mother, and I loved you with everything I had. I hope you felt that love every single day. 🕯️ Rest peacefully, my beautiful Pongo. You were never just a donkey. You were my baby. You always will be. 💔🕯️🌈

A mother and her baby desperately need your help. 💔🫏 Today, an elderly donkey arrived at our sanctuary with her baby boy, barely a year old. Her condition was horrifying. Both ears were severely swollen and infested with maggots. Deep holes had formed in both shoulders, with bone visibly exposed. The cause? The very harness meant to protect her. Its broken fittings and enormous exposed screws had been digging into her bones. Imagine the agony this poor old mother endured! Her owner came only for treatment. We begged him to admit her, but he refused. After heated arguments, he finally agreed—provided he could take her baby to pull the same deadly cart that had destroyed his mother's body! The baby is far too young and tiny even to fit that cart. I couldn't allow it. After shouting, pleading and involving local villagers, we managed to keep them both. Then came the most beautiful transformation. ❤️ Look at them outside our gates—terrified, heads lowered, eyes closed. Now look at them just minutes inside! The baby found himself surrounded by donkeys his own age, like a child arriving at a playground with a football, delighted to find so many friends! His elderly mother walked straight to the food trolley, eating so confidently and peacefully, as though she'd lived here forever. This was barely ten minutes after arriving! Outside our gates, fear and suffering. Inside, safety, friendship and peace. This is the life they deserve, not that deadly cart. But their freedom is only temporary. 💔 The owner may return tomorrow demanding them back. He doesn't want a motorised cart, as he only uses his donkey to collect fodder, not for business. This elderly mother can never return to that harness, and her baby is far too young to work. We must secure their permanent release. Please, can you help us save them for good? We urgently need sponsors for their treatment, food and ongoing care, and possibly funds to negotiate their legal release. Even £5 could help. Please donate, sponsor them or share their story. They deserve a future together, free from suffering. ❤️ Donate: tawf.org.uk/donate I'm sorry I couldn't add English subtitles or a voiceover today. It's been an incredibly busy day, so I've shared their story here instead.