Watch .. A shelter in Morocco takes care of exhausted donkeys

Abdelghani Ballout-Omnast

Mohamed Bouhrim approaches his favorite donkey, Tommy, without caution, with visible gestures wiping on his back and blowing in his face as a daily foreplay.

In a beast shelter that needs special care, this young Moroccan travels with great interest and vitality between the stables, examines a patient and provides food for another, receives visitors, tourists, school children and associations.

"Caring for donkeys gives me a sense of tranquility, and my passion for it goes back to my early childhood," says the shelter supervisor of Al Jazeera Net.

Food and medicine shelter
In the village of Omnast, 25 km away on the outskirts of the Moroccan city of Marrakech, a British citizen and her husband chose to turn a tourist project into a shelter for donkeys and exhausted mules that provide her with food and medicine.

"The shelter embraces three types of animals, all abandoned by their owners because of their futility," says the director of the shelter, "Suzanne Mishini," a quiet voice mixed with a deep tenderness of the island.

"The first category animals were born with congenital malformations in the feet or head," said the retired woman. "The second category was involved in a traffic accident, and then the older ones who could no longer work."

The beginning of the tale
The story of the orphanage began six years ago when this woman received her waste amidst tourism projects for foreigners a new baby whose mother died at birth, later called "Tommy."

"This donkey was born at the headquarters of an association in Marrakech, which could not provide a place to live for him," said Mohamed, son of the rural area.

"With the passage of days, thanks to social media and private relations, the sick and exhausted donkeys began to arrive at the menial estate in all regions of Morocco, and their number doubled," Mohammed recalls.

Structured team
With the arrival of each new animal, Mishini's and Mohammed's dream of creating a typical sanctuary for exhausted donkeys grows. It now has 108 animals of all varieties, and they expect the number to increase in the future.

Looking at a worker who just finished feeding a sick mule, Ms. Mishini stands out: "We worked to create a team of ten people through a special care system, the dedication of the workers and the magic of nature, which led me and my husband Charles to think about spending our last days in Morocco."

"The animals come scared and frightened," said Hussein, a shelter worker. "We approach them with caution, but once a few days pass, they change their behavior and become pets.

Adopt a donkey
The shelter is visited by animal-loving tourists from Europe, America and Morocco, some of whom accept the idea of ​​"adopting a donkey" throughout his life, and send the shelter a monthly payment for his food and medicine.

While a tour group arrives in the middle of the day to the patients' stable, Mohammed loosens a chain attached to the body of a donkey that is no longer able to walk or stand to rest.

"Usually, sick donkeys and visitors have a great sympathy, and they voluntarily take care of them remotely and ask about their condition," Mohammed said.

"Adoption enables us to save financial expenses, which we allocate to receive new exhausted beasts."

Education
In the little donkeys' corner, you come across children with an educational framework.

Muhammad is most happy, he says, to see a child combing donkey hair, or another patting on his back without fear.

"The city's children are happy to meet a pet in their minds with a special load associated with biting," said education manager Abdel Salam.

He adds to the island Net "for these visits educational educational dimension, and also awareness of the importance of dealing well with the ocean, including sick animals."

Awareness and awareness
Muhammad's phone rings as he engages in a donkey's ambulance, replaces his ligaments and paints his wounds with a special ointment. "We often receive calls telling homeless donkeys abandoned by their owners," Mohammed said.

"Sometimes, donkey breeders call us to look at a donkey that can no longer work, and at other times we call a cooperative veterinarian for urgent cases requiring medical intervention."

"Awareness of the importance of caring for exhausted animals among a number of donkey breeders has increased thanks to awareness campaigns, which is gratifying and motivates us to do more," he says.

Departure
The sun tends slightly to sunset, Mohammed rushes to bring all the animals back to their shelters before they go to rest after a long working day.

The young man aspires to such shelters in all regions of Morocco. He says goodbye to Tommy, who still wants to play and caress, "In every pay, words make me bid farewell to the shelter and I want to return to it early every new day."