Simply put, our rescue need donations in order to go much farther with
"Diamond Lil" AKA Lilly, because I think we're just at the beginning of a long road...
Lilly is one of the first Sheldon burros that came into our rescue. She was
delivered here by Shirley Allen and Sherry O'Mahoney over a decade ago.
Lilly is now back here, and up until her recent medical mystery, she was looking
for a new, forever home.
Several days ago, while I was doing the evening chores, Lilly stood up and
walked over to eat dinner with the rest of the donkeys in her pen. Lilly
was all bent and walking sideways. I hadn't noticed this before. I
contacted our vet and she had a look at Lilly. She thought possible Pigeon
Fever, but there were other thoughts that lead us to putting Lilly on
antibiotics. A couple of days later, it was decided to draw blood to do a
Pigeon Fever titer, simply because there are so many equine out in our area
that I wanted to be able to notify anyone close by.
A few days later, and still on antibiotics, the titer came back - negative.
This was good news for the rest of the animals, but it didn't explain
Lilly's predicament. I had also gone back and looked at some pictures I'd
taken on July 15, after I had body clipped Lilly, and there was her left
shoulder, already beginning to become enlarged.
I've been in contact with the vet involved at putting on the Donkey Welfare
Symposium this coming November, Dr. Eric Davis. He is also a teaching vet
at U.C. Davis. Dr. Davis has suggested an ultrasound and biopsy to see what
the mass is. His forte is donkeys and one of the things he knows well is
Pigeon Fever, and before the titer came back, he knew she didn't have it.
He has never seen a donkey with Pigeon Fever, and he travels around the
world to educate people about donkeys.
So, whatever the issue is, abscess or tumor, the mass is located under
Lilly's left scapula. We have received a few donations this past week, but
they will only cover tests and some meds. Much past that, we won't have
funds for any surgery if that's needed to save Lilly.
Thank you all for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Ginny Freeman