SPANA Jordan Country Director Dr Ghazi recently welcomed an unexpected new addition – a newborn donkey foal whose mother had sadly died the previous night during the birth following complications. Dr Ghazi knew the foal would need constant care and attention, including being bottle-fed through the day and night, so he and his family took him in and gave him around-the-clock care.
Dr Ghazi’s six-year-old son Abood became particularly attached to the foal, helping with the feeding duties whenever he had the chance.
The young foal needed a name and so the SPANA Jordan team turned to our social media community for help. We were inundated with suggestions, but the one that was most popular was Lucky or ‘Ayman’ in Arabic.
After a couple of months, Ayman was strong enough to be moved to the SPANA Jordan education centre, where he joined the other animals that are cared for there. Local school children regularly visit the centre to learn about animal welfare and the importance of demonstrating compassion and kindness towards working animals.
Happily, Ayman has settled in well and is popular with staff and children alike. But his favourite visitor is still young Abood, who checks on him whenever he can.
