March 5th:

Millie, a 27+ year old sanctuary resident, hasn't been separated from her son Marley (24) since the day he was born. A couple weeks ago, she started having thick drainage in one of her nostrils. A quick call to the vet and a prescription of antibiotics was the assumed cure to a probability of sinusitis. When the drainage only got worse, the vets returned for a more thorough checkup.

Thought to be an infected tooth on second exam, the hopes of removing it in the field quickly dissipated. X-rays had to be performed and the discovery pointed to an abscess at the root of an infected tooth. The abscess developed a thick line of fluid that pushed into her nasal cavity. The only solution is surgery to relieve the pressure being created in her sinuses.

Out of the few options we were given, one vet is not confident in performing the surgery. Another vet is convinced that using a more invasive method (punching a hole through the nasal cavity to access the tooth) would be more successful, although it is risky and can be very hard to heal. The safest option is through performing a tooth extraction, sinus trephination, sinoscopy, and sinus lavage. This option requires a 5 1/2 hour round trip to a hospital that feels more confident in tackling the issue before it gets worse. The surgery is scheduled for two weeks from now.

Millie has never been away from her son for more than an hour in 24 years. This whole surgery can be risky with her age.

Millie and Marley's bond is truly unbreakable. Donkeys develop deep attachments in which they get extremely depressed, can stop eating and drinking and give up without their best friend. It's extremely important to get Millie healthy and back to her son as quickly as possible.

Their bond is unmatched and they deserve to grow old together, just as they grew up together.

March 24th:

Millie had surgery at Virginia Tech's Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center Friday. Their entire staff was amazing, as they kept us up to date on her status through the entire process.

They successfully removed the abscessed tooth as well as performed a sinoscopy, sinus trephination and sinus lavage.

They were extremely accommodating in making sure our wishes were fulfilled as we could bring her early that morning and leave with her on the same day (so that she didn’t have to be away from her son for too long).  She cried to him as we left, so we knew bringing her back sooner than later would be the best choice.

She is on quite a bit of medication (pain meds, antibiotics, anti inflammatory) as well as requires every 2-3 day bandage changes and flushes. Her dental plugs (which protect food from becoming impacted in her open sockets) are staying in place at this time. The vets will come out in two weeks to trim and replace these as the tissue begins to grow around them. They will also remove her staples.

She has been through a lot and we can tell she is still quite sore, but we are hopeful as time progresses so will she. We know she is quite happy to be back watching over her son Marley again…as she’s truly made it her life’s mission. As they say: a mother’s job is never done.

April 9th

Millie is recovering nicely so far!

We had a mishap last week when one of her post surgical plugs decided to pop out (which resulted in the vet needing to visit earlier than expected).

However, Blue Ridge Equine Clinic was wonderful as always and happy to come out and assess. Millie was actually able to have one plug discontinued and the other (separating the surgical hole between her sinuses & mouth) trimmed earlier than expected. We extended her antibiotics by four more days (as she still had drainage). We were also able to remove her staples and she has another follow up in two weeks. Her inflammation is improving daily and she is elated to finally have the bandages removed!