Buffy the Buffalo is a 4-8 year old Jenny with a common dark grey hair. If you saw her in her winter coat you’d know why we thought she looked like a buffalo.
Buffy came out of Texas with Mammy Mammoth. Its unclear if they are biologically related, parent child. Buffy we believe is a mammoth standard donkey cross. With the height of a standard donkey she has the thicker boned features and heavier coat of a mammoth. They were both passed off as rideable/drivable tame mammoths. Nothing could have been further from the truth. They were brokered by a horse flipper for a kill buyer on their way to the sale to be sold for slaughter.
They were shipped across state lines and dropped to us frightened and severely ill with Strangles, a highly contagious equine sickness that is common when animals are kept in damp, crowded, unclean and stressful environments. Because broker attempted to self medicate them for transport it caused the strangles to progress to what is called Bastard Strangles and if not properly treated can be deadly or go dormant so the animal shows no signs but it still sheds the virus for others to catch. Many dollars later in vet bills we finally got them testing clear. They had also more than likely never seen a ferrier. Even with sedatives they wanted to kill the ferrier. Like most burros, they did eventually settle in and we have since been able to address their ferrier needs unmedicated.
Not long after moving to the sanctuary in Goldfield, Jon thought that Buffy wasn’t seeing right. After further examination it was determined that she is fully blind in both eyes, the cause is unknown but it is clear she came that way.
I can’t even imagine how terrifying it was for her to go thru the shuffle of the horse trader world and then head to the slaughter line. Its illegal to ship to slaughter a blind equine, so I’m sure that’s why we were pressured to purchase them. Then she gets to us blind and sick and she’s handled by strange humans, vets and shoers, makes sense why she was so defensive. Thank God she had the comfort of her long time companion, Mammy. Since she’s been with us she has made other burro friends and has become one of Jon’s favorites.
Buffy would be better suited in an environment with a lower number of animals to compete with. A new adopter would need to have burro and blind animal experience. No small children or dogs with high herding instincts.
Buffy would also benefit from a virtual adopter to help with her ongoing expenses.
