The Brooke - Owner Walid's dedication to his animal's health

Walid is 31 years old and lives in Cairo. Every day, he walks through the streets with his donkey and cart selling tools and other goods.

Walid’s donkey Marzouk is very important to him; he is unable to work without him and the money his work brings in helps support Walid's family. So, if Marzouk cannot work, Walid cannot support his wife and three children.

Walid shows where the injury occured © Brooke

Unfortunately, Marzouk rolled in his bedding one day and injured his side. The injury developed into an abscess and the donkey became very ill. It was obvious to Walid that his poor animal was in a lot of pain and was unable to work so he quickly visited a local vet.

This vet told Walid that Marzouk needed an expensive operation.There was no way Walid could afford the surgery and, desperate to help his donkey, he brought it to the Brooke clinic.

The Brooke vet told Walid that there was good news but also bad news. The injury could be treated without surgery but it would take weeks to heal. This was a huge blow to Walid as he could not work without his donkey.

The Brooke vet also told Walid that hardworking Marzouk had injured himself because his bedding was not being cleaned properly. Bedding should be cleaned every day rather than once a week to ensure there are no harmful objects in it. Sad to learn this was the case, Walid resolved to make sure his donkey healed properly and despite relying on him for his income, agreed to leave Marzouk at the clinic for as long as it took him to heal.

Luckily, Walid was able to borrow a donkey from a friend so that he could continue to run his business. Whilst he did so, Marzouk rested at the Cairo clinic. The abscess completely healed within a week but Walid allowed Marzouk to rest for 20 days before returning him to work.

Walid is a caring owner - his animal’s injury happened only because of a lack of awareness about cleaning bedding every day. His determination to follow the Brooke’s advice meant that Marzouk healed completely and that he is very unlikely to be injured in the same way again.