Perthshire animal lover Karen Inkster has set up a charity in honour of an elderly donkey she rescued from Orkney. Gayle Ritchie finds out more.
When Karen Inkster heard about an elderly donkey that nobody wanted – at risk of being put to sleep – she didn’t hang around.
Karen, who runs a natural equine centre near Dunkeld, drove north to the small Orkney island of Sanday, on a mercy mission to bring home the 30-year-old animal.
“It was a really sad story,” she laments.
“The couple who owned Miss Mop had a croft and looked after donkeys on the island that weren’t cared for. They grew old, the man died, and then the woman got dementia.
“Poor Mopsy was terribly neglected, although it was completely unintentional neglect.”
However, when Karen arrived, full of hope and anticipation, Miss Mop wasn’t too keen to co-operate.
“She was pretty feral!” says Karen.
“Two of us tried for hours to catch her, without any success. So I stayed the night and the next day we set up a corral and managed to trap her in it. She was a very sorry case.
“She had chronic laminitis, so her feet were just awful, and her coat was a complete matted mess. She was very scared, so we literally had to lift her into my horse box.”
Journey home
The journey home took much longer, as Karen had to drive very slowly and cautiously with the little donkey in tow.
On the ferry, she sat in the trailer beside her, accompanied by her Romanian rescue dog Rosie.
Poor Miss Mop was so frightened that she drooled and refused to eat.
Sleep out
When the trio returned home to Dunkeld, Karen put the donkey into a small grass paddock and set up a tent inside it.
She and Rosie slept there for three nights – to keep Miss Mop company, and to show they could “be friends”.
“She was in a really awful state,” says Karen.
“She was so skinny that her hip and back bones protruded from her body and she had weeping sores all over.
“One day she stood as I stroked her for hours. She immediately changed and thereafter she absolutely loved all humans and demanded as much attention as possible.”
Sorry state
Sadly, along with laminitis, Miss Mop had Cushing’s disease, which is a bit like diabetes in humans.
She had never had her teeth done and they were in a horrendous state with some rubbing into her gums.
When she attempted to eat, the food fell right out of her mouth. Meanwhile, one of her feet was what Karen describes as “rotting”.
She weighed only 161kg – she should have been between 220 and 250kg. So she really was a walking skeleton.
Ambition
Karen made it her ambition to do all she could to improve Miss Mop’s health, and to show her “so much love and care” that even if she only lived a few more months, she wouldn’t be hungry or lonely – ever again.
Sadly, on Tuesday, Miss Mop took a turn for the worse. Karen had no choice but to have to put her to sleep on Wednesday morning.
She was completely heartbroken.
“Miss Mop was in her stable and unable to get up,” she explains. “The vet came and found something very wrong with her heart.
“It was very peaceful and she wasn’t in pain but it was absolutely distressing for me. I cannot believe she has gone.
“It feels too soon and she will leave the biggest ever hole in my heart. Her age and probably Cushing’s disease caught up with her.
“I only had her for seven months but it feels like years. She was just simply the dearest, most loving girl I have ever met.”
Legacy
Devastated, Karen has turned her focus to setting up a charity in Miss Mop’s honour, calling it Friends of Miss Mop.
While the story of Miss Mop has a sad ending, the donkey knew great love and kindness in her final months, and her legacy will be that many more like her will be rescued.
“The new charity will raise money to help other donkeys,” says Karen.
“Miss Mop was an amazing little feral donkey who came to love everyone.
“Donkeys are the most amazing creatures and I’ll definitely take in more rescue cases.
“I just can’t believe Miss Mop is gone, but she died with a full belly, being loved, and was pain-free and content.
“She has taught me forgiveness and transformed from being so scared to loving humans so quickly.
“She embraced life and made the most of her time she had here.”
Strong bond
Miss Mop had loved her seven months with her Perthshire pals, having forged a particularly strong bond with Rosie.
“Donkeys can be very territorial and often chase and kick dogs,” says Karen.
“But Rosie and Miss Mop were best friends. Since their first day together they bonded, and they adored each other!
“I often found Rosie lying in the stable with her, both snoozing.
“Every time Miss Mop moved, Rosie got up and followed her.
“Rosie is also a rescue. She was in a kill shelter, where they get just two weeks before they’re put down. So she was very lucky.
“They were both quiet, gentle souls, so I think that’s maybe what brought them so close.”
Expensive equine
Keeping Miss Mop certainly wasn’t cheap. And in fact, she proved to be Karen’s most expensive equine, costing her more than £2,000 since she rehomed her in April.
She says: “People were so generous but she did cost me a small fortune.
“The makers of a special hoof boot, Cavallo, gave me a set of bling-coloured boots to make her feet more comfortable; they were just great.
“And while the equine dentist Stuart Lindsay generously agreed to do her teeth for free, Susan McKay at EquiExchange in Perth donated a rug and Jane Cumberlidge, an equine podiatrist, kindly kept her feet in shape.”
Amazing aura
Meanwhile, Karen had to fundraise like mad to help with the mounting costs of looking after the elderly, but much-loved donkey.
“She was an absolute darling – she gave off this amazing aura. Everyone who met her fell in love with her,” she says.
“I’ll miss her like crazy but I will never forget her.”
Two of Karen’s ponies, Standardbred rescue cross Connie, and Appaloosa Jess, featured in a Western movie filmed in the Scottish Highlands inspired by Star Wars earlier in the year. The movie, Land of the Free, was produced by Youssef Sefiani.
Meanwhile, Connie and Spanish Mustang Monty featured on the BBC’s Grand Tours of Scotland’s Lochs with Paul Murton in 2021.
The presenter had heard about a trip Karen made to the Outer Hebrides in 2017, unsupported, with Connie and her deaf collie dog Pip, to raise thousands of pounds for animal charities.
The gruelling 19-day journey saw the daring trio trek 270km from Vatersay near Barra to the Butt of Lewis, visiting 13 islands along the way and camping out under the stars.
Karen went on to give talks about the trip and wrote a book about her adventure called The Deaf, The Daft and The Ditsy, donating proceeds from both to charities.
Donkeys at Christmas
The donkey is pretty much synonymous with Christmas. The bible says that Mary rode a donkey into Bethlehem before giving birth to the baby Jesus.
We see this today in most nativity scenes where a donkey is standing by the manger, keeping watch.
Indeed, one of the most popular Christmas carols is Little Donkey, written by British songwriter Eric Boswell in 1959.
A member of the horse family Equidae, the donkey is the domesticated subspecies of the African wild ass, a critically endangered species found in deserts and other dry regions in East Africa.
Donkeys were first domesticated around 3,000 years ago, and continue to be used as pack animals in many parts of the world.
- To find out more about Karen’s business, or to donate towards Friends of Miss Mop, check out Equine Unlimited’s Facebook page. You can also make donations via PayPal at: Friendsofmissmop@gmail.com
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