For this sweet grey donkey, there are bluer skies ahead.

For donkeys made to toil in India’s haulage trade, visits from Animal Rahat veterinarians often provide the only relief from suffering most have ever experienced. On a stop at a Maharashtra brick kiln, where donkeys spend long days carrying massive loads of bricks, our staff discovered one gentle jack with a fist-sized tumor hanging from his neck. They promptly anesthetized Tarun and carefully removed the protruding mass, at the same time training a government veterinarian who happened to be onsite in how to provide large animals with general anesthesia—a vital service many don’t offer or know how to administer. With their charge on the mend, team members secured his owner’s promise to give him time off to rest and heal.