Spellbound's incredible story of survival

A routine trip to a council horse pound facility changed the fortune of this stunning mule.
Abandoned in a field in county Meath, she was picked up by the pound staff and put in with horses in a holding pen.

Donkey Welfare Adviser Cathy arrived to assess two donkeys that the pound manager had requested we take into our care. While Cathy was making friends with Binks, a lovely skewbald mare, and her young son Chewbacca, something bright caught her eye.

The bright equine stepped out cautiously from the herd and took a few steps towards Cathy. There in front of Cathy stood the most beautiful white mule. Her long shaggy coat gave her a more horse like appearance and she almost went unnoticed...almost!

A hasty phone call secured her safe passage to The Donkey Sanctuary and she trotted up the lorry ramp before we had a chance to ask her, as though she knew how close she came to a very different ending.

We may have organised her release from the pound but Spellbound saved herself that day by stepping forward and catching Cathy’s eye and her heart. Spellbound is a shining example of the beauty and intelligence found in mules. We wish her many more years of casting her spell on the humans who work so hard to save her kind from indifference, neglect and abandonment.