Orphaned foal rescued by Sidmouth Donkey Sanctuary named Prince William to mark Royal Wedding
THE Sidmouth Donkey Sanctuary has named its latest rescue, an orphaned foal, Prince William.
The foal arrived at the Sidmouth HQ of the international animal welfare charity on Saturday, April 8.
The charity’s founder, Dr Elisabeth Svendsen, decided to name it after the Prince to commemorate his marriage to Catherine Middleton tomorrow (Friday).
Amanda Gordon, PR officer for the Sanctuary, said: “We came to the plight of this little foal having received a message from a fraught donkey owner in Litchfield, who didn’t have the time to care for a foal orphaned at birth.
“We are a charity that is equipped to deal with extreme cases like this and within 12 hours he was brought to our veterinary hospital for round the clock feeding and care.
“The first few days of the foal’s life were critical so he was monitored closely by our veterinary experts who bottle fed him every two hours, gave him plenty of warmth under our heat-lamps and carefully selected another donkey, called Dusty, to pair up with him to keep him company.
“As the week progressed, he became stronger and brighter and was soon galloping around the paddock.
“He is now taking his milk every three hours from a bowl as we are keen to minimise his dependency on humans.”
Dr Elisabeth Svendsen, who named him Prince William, said: “The circumstances were terrible for this little foal and we are delighted to aid his recovery.
“We are asking visitors to the Sanctuary to respect the wishes of our veterinary staff and not to climb any barriers to touch him and risk his recovery.
“It’s a real honour to have Prince William with us and I can’t think of a better name for him, thus to mark the occasion of the Royal Wedding, we wish the couple the very best this Friday.”
The charity acknowledges the help of Pool House Veterinary Hospital in Litchfield, Bushy Vets in Tetbury, and The Phillip Lever Hulme Equine Hospital in Liverpool who all played a vital role in Prince William’s rescue.
To see a video clip of Prince William log onto www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/princewilliam
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