a new life for jid
The Intrepid Foundation has long supported the Animal Care in Egypt hospital on the outskirts of Luxor because sadly there can be a downside to local transport when animals are involved. Here they are dedicated to improving the lives of the working animals in Egypt and as Sue from ACE reports, they are delighted when a sad story turns to good news…
“A donkey was brought in to the ACE hospital with an injury seen all too commonly – a saddle sore. In the majority of cases, these wounds are caused by inappropriate padding underneath tack, or due to badly fitting tack. He initially had two wounds which were very slow to heal so he had a prolonged stay with us at the hospital.
He soon became a vet’s favourite as he was such a character! He would call out in the morning to be let out to graze in the paddock and would always love to have a roll. He soon acquired the nickname ‘Jid’, meaning grandad, as he had crooked knees!
Sadly, one day the owner decided that they could wait no longer and that they needed Jid to work. We tried our best to persuade them to let Jid recover fully before returning him to work, but to no avail. They promised to bring him in on a regular basis for us to dress and monitor his wounds, but after a few days the owners failed to show up again.
A month later he returned back to us and his wounds had gone back to square one. However, the owners this time had bought him to us to be euthanised as they thought the wounds would never heal – which admittedly they wouldn’t, when the same harness causing the problems would be put back on again and again.
We have many donkeys that come in to be euthanised for good reasons; however, to have to euthanise for such an avoidable reason is something our vets are reluctant to do. Luckily, the ACE staff supervisor was looking for a donkey to help work on his fields, and apart from the saddle sore on his back our vets could find no other reason why Jid couldn’t work.
He was hospitalised again and due to the poor rate of healing of the wounds, it was decided to perform skin grafts to help the healing process. The grafts were very successful and four weeks later a donkey that was brought in for euthanasia was heading for his new home!
He is now working every day and is being used to deliver alfalfa from the fields to ACE to feed all our current inpatients – and on every visit he gets an extra cuddle and pat too!”
Please visit www.theintrepidfoundation.org to find out how you can support Animal Care in Egypt and many other fantastic grass-roots organisations.
so it was a happy ending for this one donkey, but what about the next one the owners will get to replace him? And the thousands of others. There needs to be education to back up the hospital’s work, otherwise nothing will change.
What a great story. The team at ACE do such a good job in helping animals and in educating the locals about animal care. I went to visit the ACE hospital just outside of Luxor when i was in Eygpt at the end of 2008. If any of you intrepid travellers out there are in Luxor make sure you stop by and see the great work this hospital is doing!
What a lovely story. I was shattered to see how these animals are treated when I visited ACE last Aug. Knowing there is an amazing care facility that the lucky few visit, is a relief and hopfully can teach owners how to care for their health. Let’s hope this facility can grow alot more.
so sad these animals are treated harshly but in these countries they don’t care,have no feelings,look at the live animal trade and how they are treated at the end of the journey and others who are tortured for tourist entertainment or for so called medication,horses who are tied to trees to die of thirst and hunger because they are injured or sick and can’t work anymore
So glad there are organisations out there who do more and beyond
ACE is such a worthwhile animal charity. When I was in Egypt I went along to see the set up. We were taken by a horse and carriage and hadn’t a clue where we were going after giving instructions to the carriage driver. After the area became more and more remote we were a little concerned but hey presto arrived at ACE.. The staff were pleased to see us and showed us round even though it was rest time. We were shown all the animals in care and they work really hard to educate local people about the care of their animals especially the donkeys.
Extremely worthwhile animal charity to support.
We visited ACE last month while on the Egypt Adventure trip. The staff really care about the animals and while it may be just a small contribution towards animal welfare and education in a country which does not have a good record in this field, it is a very worthwhile project.
I read the Intrepid news when there’s time in my day. The Foundation and causes they support are amazing. I have very little money but want to contribute in a small way; most of all I want to visit and help! What wonderful work. Thailand, Egypt, South Africa…it’s all so worthwhile. I often ask myself…would it be to satisfy MY needs or theirs? Or both! Do you have a site describing the cautions and how to prepare for each journey? Thank you for your work and I will keep up with your mail to see where I might fit in. I am a senior and very able bodied. Also would like to know the volunteer positions available. Best to you all in your endeavors.
MABRUK,MABRUK, MABRUK, TO KIM AND ALL THE DR. VET. AND THE STAFF FROM ACE.LUXOR. FOR ME AS A SUISSE WOMAN, LIVING IN GABAUI/QURNA LUXOR WEST, WITH A LOT OF ANIMALS,ALSO A DONKY FROM ACE. I MAST SAY* ACE IS* A HAVEN FOR ALL ANIMALS FROM THIS WONDERFULL LAND. WITH OUT ACE, A LOT OF LOVELY,NICE ANIMALS, WOULD DAY,IN TERRIBLE CONDITION.I AM SO,SO HAPPY , ACE HELP OUR ANIMAL-FRENDS EVERY DAY, TO HAVE A BETTER LIVE AND SURVIVE FROM A CRUEL PEAPLE, HO BIT AND MAKE ANIMALS SICK AND SUFFERING!!!!!!!! PLEASE HELP ACE WITH SMOL OR BIG MONEY,ORE A DONATION, EVERY PENNY IS IMPORTEND FOR ACE TO GO ON HELPING THE SUFFERING CREATIONS!!!! THANK YOU IN ADVANCE, FOR ANDERSTANDING THE BIG PROBLEM!
I WILL GO ON, AND TELL ALL MY SWISSE FRENDS,TO VSITE ACE AND BUTT SMOL MONEY IN THE BOX! FAREDA ELFI BLUMER FROM SUISSE, BUT LUCKY TO LIVE THE REST OF MY LIFE WITH MY ANIMALS IN MY LITTLE ZOO.LUXOR-WEST
“Based in the U.K. we are specialists in all aspects of equine horse-collar and draught harness manufacture [in particular] the harness requirements of working equines. We have just returned from Luxor, Egypt and a visit to ACE (Animal Care in Egypt) by kind invitation of Kim Taylor, its director. This is an excellent establishment run by Kim, her friends, three full time vets, colleagues and volunteers and where all animals are treated free of charge by her dedicated team.
Why free you may ask? Simply because Luxor is an impoverished area where tourism and agriculture are the mainstays of life and where many people still live at subsistence level. It is poverty that creates the inability to provide an acceptable level of animal welfare, if it were not free then animals, their users and the community at large would suffer greater hardship.
In Luxor there is a large dependency on working equines (donkeys, horses) that are used for everyday purposes such as transportation, both commercial and private, agriculture and in tourism. The Caliche taxis, decorated, horse drawn carriages, are popular with tourists and are seen widely in the town centre. Tourists are advised to be selective when choosing to ride in a caliche and are asked only to use ones with animals in good condition. This helps to maintain standards!…
I am looking forward to working with ACE and to having the opportunity of putting into effect a training programme that will improve the lives of working equine together with providing indigenous people with a professional skill enabling a means of livelihood. Please give your support to this programme.”
Terry Davis. Harnessaid (Horse collar & Draught Harness Manufacturer)
Please note this comment has been edited by Intrepid Travel to reduce the length, but the sentiment and copy shown has not been altered.