The Society for Protection of Animals in North Africa (SPANA), recently notified AWI of the following:

The donkey they called Ned was found collapsed gasping for breath on a remote desert road. His owner was berating the poor animal who was not able to stand. The severely dehydrated animal hadn't been given a drop to drink all day.

Ned would surely have died a lonely and agonizing death if the SPANA mobile veterinary unit hadn't come up on him just in time.

Thankfully, our mobile unit was able to start rehydrating Ned straight away. His owner couldn't believe the transformation. Although the owner's action might seem unbelievably cruel to us, ignorance was the cause of the problem. He believed that if he allowed Ned to drink during the hottest part of the day, the animal would get colic. The improvement of his animal, who was cared for overnight by SPANA, was almost immediate. The owner was immensely thankful to SPANA for helping to save his donkey and showing him how to care for him.