Miniature donkey given new lease of life with pacemaker

Vet Gemma Tyner carried out the operation on Prince Buttons along with a team of surgeons

A miniature donkey has been given a new lease of life after vets in North Yorkshire fitted him with a pacemaker.

Prince Buttons underwent the life-saving surgery in April, after a slow heartbeat, known as bradycardia, was causing him to stagger and collapse.

Owner Denise Hart said he was one of only a few in the world to have had the procedure, which was carried out at Rainbow Equine Hospital in Malton.

She said he was much happier and "like a changed donkey" since the operation.

Mrs Hart, who lives in East Yorkshire, said: "It is absolutely amazing, he's a different donkey. I just thought he was not a very sociable donkey because he didn't like to be fussed, he would never come near people, but now he has totally changed.

'I've got my donkey back'

"I think he felt so ill he couldn't be bothered. Now he's got a shiny coat, he likes being groomed, it's totally changed him. He's lovely - I've got my donkey back!"

Buttons, as he is known, is five years old and lives with Mrs Hart along with his half-brother Rolo, who was the first to spot he was in pain.

Describing how she knew something was wrong, Mrs Hart said: "We were walking him back from the paddock and Rolo started braying really loud, and Buttons just fell on the floor.

"I thought he'd had a heart attack or something. I knelt down beside him and his eyes opened and I thought 'oh crikey!'

"Then he got up and was a bit wobbly, but he walked into the stable and started eating. He once did it four days running. We always knew it would happen because Rolo would always start to shout."

Prince Buttons is one of only a few donkeys in the world to have a pacemaker fitted

Mrs Hart took Buttons to Rainbow Equine Hospital in Malton, and was told he had a condition where he had a very low heart rate, and one chamber of his heart would stop for about 20 seconds, causing him to collapse.

When the vet said he could have a pacemaker, Mrs Hart thought it was a joke - but knew she had to pay for it to be done.

The rare operation was carried out by Gemma Tyner from Rainbow Equine Hospital along with Celia Marr from Rossdales Veterinary Surgeons in Newmarket, who are both large animal internal medicine specialists, along with surgeons Dr Chris Linney and Dr Julie Kavanagh from Paragon in Wakefield.

The five-hour procedure involved inserting the pacemaker, which is the size of a large box of matches, into the donkey's neck.

Mrs Hart said the team were "incredible", even down to looking after Rolo who had to go with his sibling on the day.

"If you have donkeys you have got to have two, donkeys need donkeys, you can't split them up," she said.

Mrs Hart said going through with the operation was a "no-brainer", and even though it was expensive, it was "money well spent".

Rolo (l) stayed with Buttons, his half-brother, during the operation