Pat - rescued equine at Nowzad donkey sanctuary

Meet Pat, an 18 year old female donkey living at the Nowzad donkey sanctuary in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Our lovely girl Pat and her son came to our sanctuary in 2021. Pat was living with a widowed lady in one of the villages on the outskirts of Kabul before we met her.  Sadly, Pat has rickets – a musculoskeletal disorder due to a very poor diet from birth – which has caused permanent deformities and ‘bowed’ front legs. We found Pat and her young foal whilst she was struggling under the weight of heavy water casks that she was transferring up and down the mountainside. Life was made all the harder for Pat with the pain and discomfort in her legs, plus nursing a young foal.

Despite some push-back, thankfully Pat’s owner finally agreed to let us take her for some much-needed rest along with her precious foal. Even better, this arrangement quickly became permanent as her owner realised Pat couldn’t continue working for much longer in her condition. That is when she got her name – Pat - and when her new life began. 

She is an incredibly friendly and calm lady, and a very good mum to her foal…they stick together like glue!  Pat is the biggest fan of carrots and apples and hurries on over to the gate as fast as she can whenever they get delivered.