Hayling Island Donkey Sanctuary: £5,000 raised to go towards vet bills

Hayling Island Donkey Sanctuary has managed to raise more than £5,000, which will be put towards their vet bills amid the death of their beloved Boyce, who passed away on Valentine's Day.

The sanctuary, run by husband and wife Paul and Tracy Hunt, has been taking ex-working or abused donkeys for years.

Boyce, who reached the age of 28, had a number of health conditions that the sanctuary had to manage and during his last week of life, the cost of vets bills quickly added up – and the couple are waiting for the full amount to come through.

He suffered with many health conditions including Cushing’s disease, which resulted in him needing specialist care, and when he was really poorly he had to have emergency call outs from the vets.

SEE ALSO: Hayling Island Donkey Sanctuary: Donkey named after Only Fools and Horses star has died at the age of 28

Since the new year, the couple have spent £10,000 on vet bills and it has had a drain on their resources, particularly as they have a number of other older donkeys who need specialised care.

Tracy said: ‘We have been here before, so many times. It is so emotional that it becomes draining and it never gets easier when a donkey dies. You know it is coming.

‘It is really hard with the vet bills as they are on going. Boyce was a very sick donkey so it was ongoing and we have several elderly donkeys. For Boyce, we haven’t had the full bills in yet.’

The sanctuary is a small independent animal shelter that relies on donations and people adopting donkeys and the finances from these keep them going, but over the last couple of months the bills have stacked up and they had to create a GoFundMe Page.

The owners set the goal at £5,000, but the generosity of people has overwhelmed them and they have received £5,291 already.

Tracy added: ‘We got a really amazing response so it just makes you feel like there are people supporting you.’

The sanctuary is opening again from March 25, and is urging people to call and book as there is limited capacity. It will open on Wednesdays and at weekends.

The fundraiser is at gofundme.com/f/boyceys-vet-bills

To donate to the GoFundMe page, click this link.