A car hit a donkey on the island of Bonaire last week and left her wounded, likely to die. This is an unfortunately common incident on the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire, where thousands of donkeys roam because they were used for labor in colonial days but were then phased out by technology. Luckily, Marina Melis, the founder of Donkey Sanctuary Bonaire, was notified in time of the injured animal, and the donkey was brought in and nursed back to health, according to The Dodo.
"She was hit by a car on the streets, and they left her for dead, bleeding on the street," said Melis, according to The Dodo. She named the donkey Maroesia, after her own mother.
Melis and her husband Ed Koopman have been running the sanctuary for 23 years, caring for ill, injured, orphaned and abused donkeys. There are 400 donkeys living in the sanctuary, being given food, shelter and medical care, according to Atlas Obscura.
The sanctuary has been getting extra media attention this week because of an amazing photo series shared on the sanctuary's Facebook page showing how real the bond can be between animal and human. When Maroesia saw Melis again for the first time since the accident, she jumped up to hug her, using the splints that she's walking on as her legs heal.
Look at that love!
