At the clinic, Derese was seen immediately by SPANA vets Dr Hanna Zewdu and Dr Mathilde Merridale-Punter. They examined Derese’s eye carefully. Luckily, her vision was unaffected, but her eye was clearly painful. They carefully checked if there were any foreign bodies lodged around the eye that could be causing the problem. When they found none, they applied a safe fluorescein stain to find out if there was any damage to the surface of Derese’s eye. This revealed that Derese was suffering from a corneal ulcer, so the vets gave Derese some much-needed pain relief and administered an antibiotic ointment to treat the infection. They then showed Gebeyehu how to apply the ointment correctly, so that he could continue Derese’s treatment at home. Gebeyehu was also advised to rest Derese and protect her sore eye from sunlight until the ulcer healed.

Dr Hanna and Dr Mathilde subsequently gave Derese a full health check. They found that Derese’s teeth had become overgrown and some sharp points were rubbing into her cheeks, which had caused ulcers to develop in her mouth. Dental issues like this can make it painful for donkeys to grind and chew their food. The team rasped Derese’s teeth to correct the overgrowth and make her mouth more comfortable.