The devastating loss of our beautiful Cicely

Lucy's UK Donkey Foundation
2 days ago
2 min read

We are totally heartbroken… 😓🙏🏼 She was not so young, well over 20 we believe, and we are almost certain that tragically she was lethally bitten by a venomous snake as two bloodied holes were clearly visible on her leg, and this is the snake season.

Our dear Cicely came to us back in August 2016. She belonged to a group of Bedouin children who abused her terribly - two or three riding her at a time, beating her relentlessly on her wounds with a long, thick chunk of wood.

We desperately wanted to try to reach out to the children and work on teaching them some kindness, but we were told that the family she belonged to were beyond 'teachable'. We did indeed try and thought we were possibly making an impression on a couple of the children, but sadly it proved to be futile.

Cicely had a very sweet character which was surprising considering how she had suffered at the hands of humans but she was a wise, knowing little soul. She was such a really easy going, tolerant little donkey and got along with everybody but she was also quite a girl’s girl and was usually seen contentedly hanging around in an all female group.

She was everybody’s friend and it was deeply moving to watch all the other donkeys come to say their goodbyes to her… Losing her so needlessly has really deeply saddened us. Of course this is true when we lose any of our precious donkeys, but it feels slightly different when it’s a loss due to a health reason and age, to when it’s because of a fatal snake bite. One moment she’s there, enjoying her life, next moment, she’s just gone.

There is not much we can do to totally prevent snakes from entering the donkey’s areas as everything is very open; possibly put up some chicken wire fencing in some areas to protect a little more, but there are gated areas where the ground is lower than the bottom of the gates, and snakes will find a way in if they want to.

Thank you to our dear supporters who made it possible for us to rescue and look after dear Cicely for very nearly ten years…

We are about to rescue two more donkeys, a couple, male and female and the femal

e is pregnant, so please, please continue to help us with our vital efforts to raise funds and spread the word about our crucial work…