The Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary is mourning the death of Colin the third.
Staff and volunteers at the site in Wroxall say the six-year-old died after struggling with a rare condition that can't be treated.
He passed away "peacefully" on Saturday alongside his friends Larry, Tim, Womble and Bear.
Colin was one of five Irish rescue donkeys that came to the sanctuary before Christmas as part of 'The Famous Irish Five'.
He settled into sanctuary life, until five weeks ago when he was taken ill with a heart problem.
Posting on Facebook, a spokesperson for the Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary said:
'We are sorry this morning to announce the passing of our beautiful, kind and loving donkey, Colin the 3rd.
We feared the worst yesterday morning but the whole team led by our vet Kate and Yard Manager Chloe, did everything we could during the day to help Colin over the crisis with his heart. By early evening Colin had recovered sufficiently to go into the paddock and join his friends Larry, Tim, Womble and Bear.
'Sadly, just an hour later, Colin laid down and passed peacefully away. We believe his heart could no longer cope with the pressure of his illness. We tried absolutely everything we could to save our young friend, but we believed he had an extremely rare condition for which there was no treatment. Staff and volunteers have been deeply affected by the loss of Colin, who was just 6 years old. Losing a young donkey is desperately tough to take.
'Colin came to the sanctuary before Christmas as part of 'The Famous Irish Five'... Irish donkeys who had been lovingly rescued by our friend Kathryn from Bedfordshire. The 5 had been through a traumatic time, had needed medical attention from The Royal Veterinary College and then needed lots of loving care from Kathryn. She asked if we could give them a forever home and of course we said yes.
Colin was a striking, good looking young boy. He loved fuss and attention, loved his life in the Eurostars group and had settled easily into sanctuary life. Fate struck 5 weeks ago when he was taken ill with heart trouble and despite every available scan, ECG and drugs available, we were not able to save him.
'2021 has been a good year for our donkeys, but today we have lost a battle and lost one of our family. This was a little donkey who was taken from us far too early.
'RIP Colin. Words truly aren't enough.'
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