Find out how SPANA vets in Zimbabwe helped Siye the donkey when he was suffering from conjunctivitis.
Siye is a lifeline for his owner, Nedi. Every day, the 18-year-old donkey carries out a variety of jobs including ploughing, transporting water and helping Nedi and his family get around Tsholotsho – the district where they live in western Zimbabwe.
There’s currently no permanent professional veterinary facility for working animals in Tsholotsho. Our vets regularly travel seven to eight hours from Harare to offer a mobile clinic service for sick and injured working animals in the district.
Nedi brought Siye to SPANA’s mobile clinic because he had a sore eye. His right eye was red, inflamed, painful and weeping. Our vets diagnosed that Siye was suffering from conjunctivitis, an infection and inflammation of the conjunctiva. They started the donkey on a course of topical antibiotic eye ointment to treat the infection. The vets also found that Siye had numerous ticks under his tail, so they used an insecticide to tackle the problem.
Our vets took their time to explain to Nedi how to continue Siye’s treatment himself at home. They gave him full instructions on how to use and administer Siye’s eye medication, then advised Nedi to rest Siye as much as possible until the infection had cleared.
Finally, to boost the donkey’s general health and energy, Siye was given a multi-vitamin injection and an oral sugar solution. The vets also advised Nedi on the best diet for his donkey and to ensure he had enough water to drink.
Nedi said: ‘My donkey is my livelihood. Many thanks to the SPANA team for treating my donkey for free and for helping me. I wish you could always be working in our area.’
With your continued support, SPANA is planning to open a permanent veterinary centre in Tsholotsho to help working animals in the district who desperately need our help. The centre will enable our vets to provide sick and injured animals like Siye with round-the-clock care. The centre will also deliver training to communities and schoolchildren to improve their animal welfare knowledge and skills.
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