Poor old Sig is suffering from pneumonia
Only 34 inches tall and 300 pounds our elderly miniature donkey is feeling really lousy in this summer heat with pneumonia. This sweet guy is 22 years old and was so feisty on arrival. Underweight with a dull coat, covered in mud up to his belly and feet in need of trimming, he got a deep cleaning after his arrival in June and we started his rehab.
He needed some immediate dental care because his canine teeth were completely hidden under years of calculus and tarter. So much that both his lower canines were loose and the gum tissue surrounding them red with infection. I cleaned them thoroughly and we put him on a round a antibiotics in hopes that the gum tissue with reattach to the teeth. More work is needed.
Recently I noticed him a little moody and the other day noticed him coughing. Taking his vitals it seemed pneumonia was probably the cause. All the vets were booked, but Dr. C squeezed him in so we hauled him to her clinic 70 miles away and confirmed his illness. A culture has been sent off to the lab and we should have results sometime next week. In the meantime, she started him on an antibiotic called Excede which requires two shots 4 days apart and depending on the results of the culture we may need to do a second round with a different drug.
We love this old guy that no one wanted to adopt. At 22 and a bit of a pistol, I named him Sig after my Sig Sauer Mosquito (22 caliber pistol). He now comes to his name and if let loose will follow me around the barn while I am doing chores. Why someone dumped him at a killbuyer we will never know, but I suspect they just wanted to get rid of him because he is old.
Not feeling well now he just walks up to me and puts his head against my chest and wants some TLC. Breaks my heart to see him feeling so bad even though I am doing all I can to keep him comfortable. Our 100 degree days this past week certainly haven't helped. Luckily it will be in the 80's next week.
Help is needed to cover his health care expenses. In addition to the meds he had for his prior dental care ($30), trip to the vet ($50), vet care ($35.70), tests ($144) and current meds (74.08), possibly another round of meds and he will need more dental work when he recovers from the pneumonia. Dr C has generously given us a discount. Our goal is to raise $500.
If you can help with a tax-deductible donation of any amount so we can get him well again it will be a huge relief. Being older, the vet says his prognosis is guarded, so we want to do all we can to give him a few more happy years. He deserves that after the rough life he has had.
Donation can be made with a credit card by clicking this link:
