An animal in agony and supporters rewrote the story.
But YOU rewrote the story
Asif was a noble animal. Born beautiful. A strong gray mule, faithful in service as a beast of burden.
And he was loved. His owner, a humble working man in a remote region of Morocco, was grateful for the mule’s daily labor. He recognized the enormous value of this good animal: Without the help of this dependable partner, he could not keep his family alive.
Yet money was always tight. So sometimes, corners had to be cut. A proper saddle, for example, would be far too expensive. Which is why the mule wore a hand-me-down, designed for a different animal. Unbeknownst to the owner, the saddle scraped the mule’s skin.
We see it often, in North Africa. Working animals pay a price for poverty. On the mule’s back, a painful abscess formed … a wound so grave, it would take five months, and multiple procedures, to bring healing.
But the compassion of our supporters brought the healing. They set our veterinary team in motion. They eased this animal’s suffering. For a family in dire straits, supporters brought new life, fresh hope.
This was not a simple case … but strong support empowered our veterinarians to monitor and evaluate Asif, to lay strategy wisely and take effective action. And most of all, to patiently, faithfully stay the course. They never gave up.
When Asif arrived here at the American Fondouk, the mule was in terrible pain. There was bacterial infection in the wound. It was badly inflamed. We rushed to get anti-inflammatory and antibiotic medications into his system, and we began repeatedly flushing the abscess with a saline solution.
After two agonizing weeks, we could see that the animal was feeling somewhat better, and the wound was shrinking. After five weeks, this good mule was feeling no pain at all. We had won the battle, but not the war. The wound refused to completely heal. Our team knew that if we didn’t completely defeat it, the next round would be even more brutal.
Our veterinary staff were able to give their full attention to this complicated case. After two months, we had to go back in to remove dead and dying tissue and bone. It took a total of four months for the tissue to completely heal.
After five long months of treatment at the American Fondouk, a gallant mule was reunited with a jubilant family.
Not many people in our world today are conscious of the need for working animals in a far-off region, and also willing to give to make life possible for animals and the people who depend on them for survival.
Please make a gift today. DONATE HERE.
