Inside this "feral" burro was a loving, sweet domesticated donkey trying to get out. At least that would explain why this 21 year old feral jack turned out to be so gentle at Longhopes.
Bailey came to Longhopes in 2001 as part of a cooperative training program between Longhopes and the Bureau of Land Management.
Unfortunately soon after Bailey arrived it became apparent he had a vision problem. He has a disease known as "moonblindness" or chronic uveitis which is caused by the ultraviolet rays of the sun. He isn't blind but it is impossible to predict whether his condition will remain stable or progress. In the meantime he wears a flymask throughout the year to keep the sun out of his eyes.
We also discovered that his bonded mate was blind in one eye. We couldn't split them up and didn't want to force them to adapt to another home so both were placed in our sanctuary program. "Tag", Bailey's companion for several years had to be euthanized when he broke his leg.
Since then Bailey has been a loner except for a brief fling with young April who was really dependent on him.
We have also disovered that years of poor nutrition and low water supplies on the open ranged caused Bailey to suffer some permanent liver damage. It is also probably the cause of a premature loss of his molars. Consequently, Bailey has no grinding surface to eat hay. Instead he gets several large bowls of softened grain each morning and night.
Bailey is so good natured about the extra medical attention he needs and is actually very well behaved about all grooming and hoof trimmed activities too.
He is just a love and so he is a member of our Sanctuary program which guarantees him a permanent home at Longhopes.
