Kolina, a year-old Anatolian Shepherd, would normally have been out frolicking with the other dogs, making friends, burying bones, fetching sticks, and having a great time. But unfortunately for Kolina, she has wobbler disease. It’s an inherited condition that usually affects larger breeds of dog.
The condition causes compression of the spinal cord and compaction of nerve ends. There’s often neck pain, problems with muscle control (and the associated wobbly walk), and in some cases, the affected dog can hardly walk at all. There are surgical treatments for the disease, but they’re technically very difficult and don’t always work.
For Kolina, wobbler disease made sitting and standing painful and also a lot of work. To the extent she walked around, it was in an odd crouching position. Moving around, in general, was difficult and painful. Most of the time, she preferred to lie on her side.
You might suppose that Kolina was doomed to a sad, depressing, and lonely life, unable to play with the other dogs. But the good news is that she has an unlikely best friend, someone who comes to visit and spend time playing and cuddling.
According to the owner of both of these animal friends, Paolo was always a perfectly normal donkey, both mischievous and stubborn. When this six-year-old donkey first saw Kolina, he didn’t think much of her: just another dog. But then, once he realized she was disabled, his attitude completely changed.
Now Paolo takes time every day to drop by with warm greetings and an eagerness to play. As you’ll see in the video posted below, Kolina and Paolo absolutely adore each other. Is this story of inter-species friendship heartwarming, or is it heartwarming?
