A 40-year-old donkey that was reported stolen from a field in Surrey has been found at an equine sanctuary in Cornwall.
The donkey, named Horace, went missing from his field in Old Oxted earlier this month (5 May).
Following his disappearance his owners mounted a social media campaign to find him.
But on 7 May Judy Giles a trustee of the Flicka Foundation — a donkey sanctuary near Falmouth in Cornwall — noticed an unknown donkey in at the centre’s barn.
“I realised straight away he wasn’t one of ours,” she told H&H.
“We put him in a stable and scanned him to see if he was microchipped, which he wasn’t. The next morning we called the vet out to assess him.”
After researching stolen donkeys on the internet, Mrs Giles found details of Horace’s disappearance in the Surrey Mirror and contacted the police in Oxted.
The Kavanagh family, who own Horace, confirmed his identity and have allowed him to stay at the sanctuary.
“He had discharge from both eyes and the vets thought he might have a tumour so we were anxious to get to him x-rayed. The family agreed this should be done,” added Mrs Giles.
“His teeth needed a lot of treatment and due to the extensive rehabilitation involved the owner’s have relinquished him over to us.”
Last week (13 May) Horace was taken to Penmellyn veterinary hospital at Wadebridge for emergency dental treatment.
He is now back at the Flicka Foundation where staff are giving him five-10 small feeds a day until he has fully recovered.
Horace is not the only donkey at the sanctuary in his forties. They also have Bergerac who is 45, Jasper, 44, and Acorn and Rosie, both 42 years old.
“Horace had been living alone and is enjoying the company of Acorn,” said Mrs Giles.
Surrey Police is asking anyone with information about Horace’s disappearance to call 101 quoting 4510037012 or ring Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
