It was a very sad day on Monday June 27th 2011 when the vet was booked to put our Cracker to sleep. He had not eaten up for more than three days and he was not going to get any better. It was thought that his lungs were not working properly. His owner Richard did come to see him last week to say his farewells.

Cracker or Ned as he was known ( I found this out when another friend of Richards came to see him ) was into his fifty third year making him the oldest donkey in Scotland in 2011. He did enjoy the occasional ginger biscuit and despite having to be picked up a couple of times during the winter seemed to enjoy his last days here at the Holmes.

Cracker came to the Sanctuary just before Christmas 2010 having been rescued twenty years ago by Richard. Obviously it was not what Richard wanted to do but circumstances meant that Cracker could not live with Richard anymore and they found themselves homeless. Cracker came to us we installed some heating in his stable and he saw through a tough winter. He was used to being walked every day and he certainly let you know when he wanted to go out for his daily walk. Currently he has been living with the oldies Hero, Florence Mcdonald, Minty etc and was enjoying life. His illness was sudden and despite some medical treatment last week it was best to have him put to sleep.

I am sure that many people will miss him after all he has been around more than half a century and must have seen a lot of people in that time.

A remarkable achievement for a donkey.