Source:  News Release/Emma Gill

Donkey vets get to the heart of the matter

The Donkey Sanctuary has been bringing veterinary science up to date over the last month by carrying out a study of healthy donkey hearts.

The international animal welfare charity has been working with veterinary cardiologist Sue Roberts of SLR Cardiology Referrals to establish a database of healthy donkey hearts which will act as a reference range when sick donkeys are admitted to the charity’s world-leading donkey hospital.

The Donkey Sanctuary has been treating and caring for sick donkeys for over 40 years, but whilst veterinary science has provided reference points for healthy horse hearts for many years, no official studies had previously been carried out to determine the dimensions and features of healthy donkey hearts.  The new database will enable vets – both at the charity and further afield – to ascertain whether aspects of donkey hearts are affected by disease.

Karen Pickering, Veterinary Clinician for The Donkey Sanctuary, explains:

“Veterinary science has traditionally been some distance behind when it comes to donkeys, and this project will enable us to reset the balance when it comes to understanding the impact of disease on donkey hearts.  Veterinary cardiologist Sue Roberts has been assisting The Donkey Sanctuary with carrying out ultrasound scans – non-invasive scans similar to performing a human pregnancy scan – on 30 of our healthy resident donkeys.  Scans on these donkeys, a third of whom are aged under 15, a further third aged 15-30 years old, and the remainder over the age of 30, will enable us to establish the parameters of healthy donkey hearts for these age groups.  This means that when we discover a donkey with a heart murmur we can accurately determine whether this has affected the dimensions and functionality of their hearts and therefore have a better idea of the treatment needed and their prognosis.

“As an animal welfare charity whose heart-shaped logo depicts the love and compassion that we have for donkeys, it seems very apt that this study of healthy donkey hearts will enable us to provide an even greater and more informed level of care for sick donkeys at our hospital.”

Here is a short video about the heart project

To find out more about the work of The Donkey Sanctuary, please visit www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk. 

Further information about SLR Cardiology Referrals can be found at www.slrcardiologyreferrals.co.uk.