By Lauren Beavis
An adorable little donkey named Wonder has received a new prosthetic leg to help her stand and walk – just in time for Christmas.
Wonder was born with two deformed hooves leaving her unable to stand or walk.
But since being fitted with a specialist prosthesis, the young mule is now able to walk “better than ever before”.
At a young age, she was admitted to Donkey Sanctuary Bonaire in the Netherlands – a center for neglected, abused, confiscated, sick or old donkeys.
When veterinarians at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Ghent University heard about Wonder’s condition, they got in touch with Wesley Michiels from Pet Orthopedics – a company that makes prostheses and braces for animals.
Wesley Michiels, head of Pet Orthopedics, said: “The vets contacted us and explained that they wanted to amputate the leg – asking us how they could best go about it to ensure that the donkey would be able to walk again with a view to a prosthesis.
“We were on site for about three weeks to carry out the measurements on Wonder.”
As the vets amputated her little hooves – the orthopedics were able to fit a prosthetic leg that grows as Wonder does.
Wesley said: “The cooperation results in a perfect amputation stump so that the prosthetic device also fits perfectly.
“Wonder is still a little donkey who still has to grow in the future, so the prosthesis is adaptive so we can adjust it when she grows.
“In the beginning, she has to learn how to use the leg more – but with the prosthetic device she is now already walking better than before.”
Wesley says he has worked with donkeys before – but a full prosthesis for the species was a new task for him.
He added the new technology has helped many species – from alpacas to dogs and now donkeys.
Wesley said: “In the past, the legs of animals were completely amputated up to the shoulder or up to the hip for a problem with toes for example – then sometimes you couldn’t do anything with one leg.
“But now many vets first call us to ask for advice about the amputation, so that we can put a prosthesis afterwards.”
