Sick donkey saved by drinking 24 litres of cola as vets come up with odd cure

07 February 2024 , 11:08

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Joey was grieving the loss of his mum and had stopped eating entirely (Image: The Donkey Sanctuary / SWNS)

A grief-stricken donkey who developed a stomach blockage when his mum died was cured after vets made him drink 24 litres of cola.

Joey, 15, had stopped eating when he lost his elderly mum Josie in November last year. It caused him to develop a gastric impaction, meaning food was no longer able to pass through his small intestine.

But the bereaved donkey was lucky to have a team of vets around him who quickly sprung into action, coming up with a quirky cure to rid him of the potentially fatal blockage.

Vet Jamie Forrest said: "Our vets rushed into action – giving Joey an abdominal ultrasound and conducting a process called gastroscopy – putting a camera up his nose and into his stomach. Intensive treatment was required to resolve the impaction. As well as pain relief we flushed Joey’s stomach with cola several times a day to dissolve the solid.

"We used six litres of full-sugar cola a day, spread out over three treatments, for four days to soften and dissolve the impactions in his stomach so the ingesta could once again travel to his intestine. In essence the cola acted like a drain cleaner. It eats away at the firm matter and eventually softens it to a point where it can pass."

Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him

Cola should never be given to healthy donkeys (Getty Images)

The team avoided treating Joey at an animal hospital, despite that being the standard procedure, to protect him from further stress. During his treatment, Joey was taken care of in his barn by groom Kayleigh Yelland and farm supervisor, Laura Attwood.

Kayleigh said: "Joey had been with his mum his whole life, so it was such a massive change for him. He had become quite nervous and didn’t want to be around anybody. Every time we went to see him, we wanted it to be a positive experience.

"I didn’t want Joey to associate visits from us with the veterinary treatments he was receiving. I used positive reassurance to help him along – I would go in and scratch his neck, reassure him and then walk away."

The donkey appears to be returning to his happy self and has recently made friends with another bereaved donkey, Ben. Ben lost his friend, another donkey, Bob, at a similar time to when Joey lost his mum.

Kayleigh said: "By buddying the two together, we hoped their shared experience of loss would allow them to comfort each other. Their friendship is still flourishing, it’s early days. But I really do think their future as friends looks promising. For example, Joey will eat out of Ben’s bucket because he wants to be next to Ben! Then Ben will follow Joey around."

Zahra Khaliq