Tuesday, December 12, 2017

A Sad Goodbye To An Old Friend

" Donnie "


We had to say goodbye to our sweet boy Donnie last Saturday.  Sometime Friday night or early Saturday morning, Donnie coliced.  When my daughter came in to feed that morning, the front door of the barn was slightly open, and he was not in his stall.  Somehow he'd slipped out under his stall guard. At first she thought maybe he'd just escaped, but then she saw the grooming stall where he'd pawed up some of the rubber pavers and urinated.  Something was very wrong. She went in search of him found him down the hill by the indoor arena in a sheltered area laying flat out on the grass.  He was in bad shape. His face was scraped and he was covered in sweat and mud, thought he mostly lay still and moaned by this point. 

With an ultrasound, the vets located a "surgical lesion" in his small intestine and they decided since it was in his small intestine he had a decent chance of surviving with a simple surgery.  The horse ambulance came and took him to the clinic.  The surgeon found two lipomas, one of which had strangled a large section of his intestine, killing it. We were offered the option of attempting a resection, with the understanding that there would be no guarantees, a long, hard recovery, and a possibility of chronic colic to follow.  Difficult as it was, we chose to let him go.  He was 19-20.

Donnie has been with us since he was about four. Even as a young horse, he was always a gentleman. But more than that, Donnie seemed to genuinely love everyone around him. He was everyone’s best friend--horse, dog, and human alike.  Donnie was the first one to nicker a friendly good morning to you each day.  He watched out for all his horse buddies, worried about them when they were upset, and tried to help whenever one of them was sick or in trouble.  Donnie did develop some issues and couldn’t be ridden, but he had lots of fun playing clicker games, longeing, and tangling burrs in his tail which would take hours of grooming to remove ;-)  He was the sort of horse that was eager to learn and tried hard to please. He was pleasant to work around, with perfect manners and a friendly disposition.  He was always up for a good scratch or an ear rub, and if you weren't paying attention he'd give you a (friendly) nip on the behind! It was impossible not to love Donnie.  His nature made him the sweetest, kindest and gentlest horse we’ve ever known.  Donnie loved affection and if you hugged his neck he would hug you back, wrapping his neck around you and squeezing.  Donegal will be missed by all of us, especially Sami, his best buddy.

Donnie had a good life with us and enjoyed his time with his friends, but it’s still never easy to say goodbye to such a special horse.  We are going to miss him being with us everyday. The barn seems especially empty without him, and quiet without his friendly nicker in the morning.


 A Slideshow of Donnie
"Wild Horses" by Ray La Montagne

 






18 comments:

  1. So very sorry. Such a hard decision, but you put Donnie's needs first. I hope that can be a comfort to you.

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  2. I am so sorry that you lost him and in such a manner.

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  3. Oh no. So sorry for your loss. I would have done the same thing under those circumstances. It's amazing that the vets can perform that type of surgery for such a serious problem. It seems not so long ago, in my part of the country where I lived at the time, if a horse colicked, the vets just poured some oil into them, and if that didn't get things moving, they recommended euthanasia. Your vet was able to get a lot of information on what was going on with him. Donnie will definitely be missed. Hugs.

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  4. This makes me cry. You made the right choice for him. I don’t like for our horses to die—I want them to live forever. It’s NEVER long enough. Good bye, Sweet Donnie. My heart goes out to you all. I hope you’re able to carry his spirit with you in a way that brings you comfort and makes you stronger.

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  5. Yesterday it went from 60's to 30, with 40 mph winds. Keeping an eagle eye on the water trough... Donnie was such a lovely horse. So sorry for your loss A. (((hugs)))

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  6. Beautiful tribute for a beautiful soul. I am so sorry for your loss :( at least you knew what was wrong and make the best decision for Donnie. Not that it makes saying good bye any easier, but perhaps it gave some peace of mind. He was such a handsome guy! Hope Sammie does okay without him, and you & your daughter as well. Loss is so damn hard, but how glorious it is to have loved! Thanks for sharing all those beautiful photos of your boy.

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  7. so incredibly sorry for your loss :(

    hugs to you and yours <3

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  8. Oh Arlyne, I am so very sorry. This just breaks my heart, so I can only imagine how you must be hurting. For my horses, my greatest desire is to give them a good life where they always feel loved, and to spare them pain if and whenever possible. Something like this is so tragic. Poor, beautiful Donnie; this shouldn't have happened to him. I'm not sure why, but he's always been my favorite of your beautiful horses. He had such a twinkle in his eye, and looked like such a mischievous guy with lots of personality and lots of affection to give. Your stories about him always made me chuckle. May he race and jump with the angels. I am thankful you had him and gave him such a wonderful life. Hugs my dear friend...

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  9. Donegal loved well, & he was well Beloved.
    ((cyber hugs, my Friend))

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  10. So sorry to hear this, Arlene. Hugs.

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  11. Arlene...very sorry to hear that you are going through this again. Donnie could not have had a better life. You and your daughter gave him the best there was to give. Hope Sami finds a new best friend.

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  12. I am so sorry. You put his interests first, which is the important thing. I hope all the good memories you cherish of him will help.

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  13. I am so very sorry that beautiful Donnie has gone. You and your daughter always put the animals first and make such selfless decisions, always in their best interests. What a wonderfully blessed life he had with you, and you with him. I hope Sami is ok without his best friend. Though I'm sure Donnie will always be there, along with Dusty and the others.
    Thank you for sharing the touching slideshow, lovely tribute that made me cry. Big Hugs! xx

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  14. So very sorry for your loss. Colic is the worst :(

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  15. Sorry for your loss. He sounded like such a unique horse, and I loved reading your anecdotes about him.

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