Hayling Island Donkey Sanctuary volunteers 'absolutely heartbroken' as Dougal dies after health complications
Volunteers at a donkey sanctuary are mourning the death of a beloved resident.
Dougal the donkey, who had been living at Hayling Island Donkey Sanctuary for the past three years, has sadly died, a post on social media confirmed.
The charity cares for ex-working donkeys and those in need of a forever home, using the land in Mill Rythe Lane to house, feed and look after them.
Sharing the news online, volunteers announced that Dougal - who had been battling health problems for months - had died.
A post on Facebook read: “We are absolutely heartbroken and devastated to say that we lost our dear darling little Dougal yesterday. He has had some ongoing medical problems where he recently spent a week at the equine hospital undergoing investigation, sadly he has not responded to treatment and started to decline.
“He had been with us nearly three years he was such a sweetie and enjoyed pottering about often snoozing in a quiet sunny spot.
“This is yet another blow to us, instead of enjoying our first weekend back opening to the public, we are all feeling very upset and extremely sad as there is a little Dougal-shaped space missing from our donkey family.”
It comes at vet bills continue to pile up for the sanctuary, which has been billed more than £20,000 already for care received in 2026. This includes Dougal’s hospitalisation and treatment, Annie’s investigations, X-rays and treatment for a long-term lameness, and dentistry for all the donkeys, among other things.
A GoFundMe has been started by the charity to help pay for these bills, which has reached more than £16,000 at the time of publication.
Founder Tracey Hunt said: “With 33 donkeys in our care, we have seen over these last few months an unprecedented amount of essential vet bills, which even now are ongoing.
“This is proving to be a heavy drain on our resources, particularly when added to the cost of caring for several other elderly donkeys at the sanctuary needing specialised ongoing treatment and life-long medication.
“Since the new year we have received vet bills exceeding £20,000, with more yet to come and are looking to raise funds to contribute towards these - it’s literally been one thing after another with the donkeys, and the vets have been out what seems like every day.”
Readers can click here if they wish to donate to the fundraising campaign.