Donkey Spent Years Alone After Losing Her Best Friend

For years, a donkey named Kitty stood by her owner's side at a rural property in Ireland's Cork County. By all accounts, they had formed an uncommonly strong bond - one that was suddenly shattered when her elderly owner was admitted to the hospital.

He went somewhere she couldn't follow. And then he went even further. The man, according to a story recounted by The Donkey Sanctuary on Facebook, died at the hospital.

But Kitty lingered at her old home, roaming its boggy marshes, and waiting patiently for her owner's return.

Somehow, along the way, everyone forgot about Kitty.

Years had passed before The Donkey Sanctuary, Ireland heard about the donkey of the bog. When rescuers finally found her, she had descended into a nightmarish vision - a half-starved specter haunting a decrepit property. She had been fending for herself for too long. And it showed in every agonizing detail.

Kitty's coat was severely matted. She was brutally malnourished. And her hooves had grown so long, they curled upward, causing intense pain.

But still, beneath it all, it was obvious there was a donkey who was once so very well loved.

"Staff said that she was the sweetest donkey ever to step foot in the Sanctuary," the group's Facebook post reads.

And so, sanctuary staff set to work.

Her hooves, in particular, required extensive work. Much of it caused Kitty great pain. But Kitty, the group notes, "was always so gentle."

And then, at last, Kitty shined again.

"She made a fantastic recovery and went on to represent The Donkey Sanctuary in several shows and events throughout Ireland," the Facebook page notes. "Everyone that had the pleasure of meeting Kitty experienced what a character she was."

From heaven to hell and back again, Kitty will live out the rest of her years at the sanctuary, a rolling, verdant stretch of land near the village of Liscarroll in Cork County.

You can help support these donkeys, and the work the sanctuary does, by making a donation here.