Theo & Noah

Theo & NoahTheo & Noah came into our care a couple of weeks ago, when it was discovered that Theo was extremely ill and had been diagnosed with colic. Theo had received veterinary care with his previous owners, but was quickly deteriorating, needed urgent surgery and so they signed them over into our care.

Almost immediately, Theo was transported to Liphook Equine Hospital to undergo surgical treatment. His best friend, Noah accompanied him and has been at Theo’s side throughout his treatment.

Theo needed emergency treatment and during his first operation, our vets were able to see that Theo’s intestine had been severely damaged and around 1 foot of intestine had to be removed. Poor Theo was desperately ill and needed a plasma transfusion.

Our team, quickly organised blood transfusion procedures and the next day, 3 of our young, strong geldings Major, Thomas and Eiffion donated blood, facilitated by our local vet. The blood then had to be transported over to Liphook hospital and Sammy, one of our fantastic farm team members, drove this blood over so that Theo could have the transfusion within the shortest possible time, giving him the best chance of surviving his major operation.

The transfusion made a huge difference to Theo and he became brighter and felt able to stand and move around his stable, quietly. All the time, watched over, by his best friend, Noah.

The next day however, little Theo became less bright and he was going downhill pretty quickly. David our outstanding vet at Liphook, decided Theo needed another operation to see how the intestine was coping with the previous operation. During this operation, it became apparent Theo needed to have part of his colon removed and as he was deemed strong enough for this procedure our vet carried out this further operation. After another major operation, Theo literally was fighting for his life. Luckily, he’s a fighter and together with the veterinary team, Theo survived this second operation and to give him the best chance of recovery another blood transfusion was needed.

Again, time was crucial and we needed to get blood to Theo for his transfusion. Another two selfless team members, Farm Manager, Chloe, and Estate Manager, Nick, along with donkeys Leighton and Trevor made their way over on another ferry journey to donate blood and potentially save the life of Theo.

Both donkeys did a great job, as did our team members and the team at Liphook and within a few hours, everyone safely arrived at Liphook Hospital. Our team members headed back to the Island, leaving Trevor and Leighton to donate blood the next morning. The team at Liphook said they even got to enjoy Trevor singing all night long! We wonder what the other equine residents might have made of that!

The blood transfusion was a huge success and Theo quickly became brighter and over time was able to have short walks and even nibble some grass. His recovery is still in the early stages and he now has an infection in his leg that he is now fighting but we are hoping and wishing him well.

Theo can live a happy life even with part of his colon and intestine removed. He’ll need oil in his diet and extra care, but this can be managed. It's huge thanks to our fantastic veterinary teams at Vectis Vets on the Island, Liphook Hospital, and our dedicated and selfless team at the IOW Donkey Sanctuary who have helped give Theo every hope of surviving.

It’s been very emotional for everyone concerned and we are all wishing Theo a full recovery.