Aladdin's Legacy Fund

Aladdin's Legacy Fund

I met Aladdin at the beginning of March, 2024. Before he was Aladdin, he was a USDA-approved export, tag number 5581. His feet were so overgrown and painful he could hardly stand.  His weariness was palpable. He laid down in fresh shavings and didn't get up for a week, except to eat and drink. 

While Aladdin rested, I completed intake paperwork, which is sparing, often incorrect or missing altogether. It's a single, yellow sheet of paper that tells us very little. What information it did contain told us that Aladdin, malnourished and crippled, had been in the auction pipeline for over six months. Six months of being shuttled from auction to auction, town to town.** Six months of painful loading and unloading, traveling in livestock trailers in freezing winter weather, standing for hours - maybe days - at a time. Hungry. Cold. Certainly in pain.  His last stops were in Northern and Southern Oklahoma, and Bowie, Texas, where generous supporters he'd never meet raised money and saved his life. 

The Haven is one of few rescues who accept cases like Aladdin. Lack of capacity is the only reason an animal will be turned away. For some animals, the Haven will be a sanctuary, but many donkeys suffering from crippling conditions of the hooves caused by years of neglect are treatable. With intervention by skilled farriers and podiatrists, continued regular maintenance, and in some cases daily medication, these equines can go on to be adopted and lead full, pain-free lives.   

Aladdin & Dr. Sammy

Aladdin struggled with the effects of long-term neglect. Despite two years of treatment, his tendons, hooves, and arthritic joints finally failed him.  He was laid to rest July 16, surrounded by people who love him.

For Aladdin, intervention came too late, but there are hundreds of others with his condition whose lives can be utterly transformed if they have needed care. It takes time, patience, and money.          

Please help them by donating to Aladdin's Legacy Fund this Giving Day.  

**A brief note:  Helping Donkeys in need is the honor of my life. Volunteering at the Haven is one of the hardest and most rewarding things I've ever done. Thank you to my family, who sacrifice so I can do this work. Thank you to the Donkeys for their patience, and for teaching me. If you've never met a donkey, I hope you do. 

Every Donkey has a story, a journey that brought them here, and one of the most important jobs we do at the Haven is to honor those stories, give voice to the voiceless. 

The journey of the Donkey often starts deep in the American Southwest or the high deserts of Arizona, Nevada, or California. Maybe it begins in a barnyard or a field in Alabama, Missouri, or East Texas. But for most of our residents, it usually leads through a long series of small town auction barns and culminates at one of the six major US auctions, where being passed over is a death sentence, no matter how sick or how healthy, how old or how young. 

One of the greatest gifts we can give these animals is an awareness of their plight. Tell their story. Give voice to their suffering. Call attention to the inefficient, incomprehensible channels of commerce that lead to the brutal end of a life. There is another way and we must - we must - find it.