Are you ready to cry and hate the world for a second, but then celebrate the triumph of the human donkey spirit and every mammal’s right to wear pants? WELL, GOOD.
Haim the donkey was tied up with barbed wire by his former owners (whom I hope rot in hell or at least have a really, really hard time figuring out their taxes next year). As if that weren’t bad enough, the owners’ kids abused the donkey. By the time Haim arrived at Israeli animal sanctuary Ramat Gan Safari, the fur on his legs was almost totally gone. Flies went to town biting the skin there, so Haim would scratch his legs, but that only caused sores that attracted MORE flies. (HEART. BREAKING.)
Hang in there, because here’s the happy part, where we put some pants on that ass:
Two caretakers, Becca Rivkin and Shira Inbar-Danin, came up with a solution. They spent four hours stitching a special pair of pants for the donkey that are held up by suspenders over his shoulders. The pants are double-layered, with a soft stretchy material on the inside, covered by a rougher baggy material that flies can’t bite through. The two women also rub cream on his legs every day.
The special pants are working swimmingly, and Haim will soon receive pants for his hind legs as well. With his skin protected, his fur is expected to grow back quickly, and then Haim the donkey will be able to trot around bare-ass once again.
Either that or he’ll demand a little suit jacket and fedora.