Donkey Trails Montenegro

🫏 Merlin urgently needs our help ❤️

Sorry that things have been a little quiet here lately. It is not only high season, but a lot has happened behind the scenes. We have taken in several new rescue animals, including two little cats and two sheep. We will tell you more about them another time.

Today, it is about Merlin, an estimated 15-year-old donkey who has only been with us for a few days.

When we first saw him, it was immediately clear that we had to bring him to safety. He is extremely emaciated and in very poor physical condition. He had spent several weeks on a property and had apparently been feeding largely on figs. The lovely people who found him have also continued to support us with his care. ❤️

His biggest problem is his teeth. Several cheek teeth are severely overgrown. Two upper teeth are growing deeply into his cheek, and there is an extremely long tooth at the very back of his lower jaw. We simply cannot reach the worst areas with our manual equipment.

Our wonderful veterinarian Arben Hajdari has already treated everything that was safely possible under the circumstances. Unfortunately, we simply cannot reach the most problematic areas with our manual equipment. Merlin also injured his tongue during the treatment, so we had to stop.

In a second post, we will show you how Arben tried to treat Merlin’s teeth with our manual equipment – and why we have now reached the limits of what we can do with it.

Merlin cannot eat enough because of his teeth. In his already extremely weak condition, getting his teeth treated is vital to saving his life.

We urgently need an equine dental specialist with specialised powered equipment. We contacted an experienced specialist in England, who believes the overgrowths can potentially be treated without general anaesthesia. He has even offered to potentially travel to Montenegro with someone from his team to treat Merlin. ❤️

We estimate that we will need around €1,500 for his treatment.

❤️ Help Merlin

PayPal:
paypal.me/DonkeyTrailsME

Every donation helps us make this treatment possible.

We also urgently need hay cubes. Merlin can currently eat only very small amounts, and our supply is running low. Our old boy Muck, who has very few teeth left, is completely dependent on them too.

If you are driving from Germany to Montenegro soon and could bring us one or two bags of hay cubes, we would be incredibly grateful! Just send us a message and we will tell you where you can easily get them.

Thank you to everyone who has already offered help, shared contacts or supported Merlin in any way. ❤️

Every day counts. We want to give Merlin the chance to eat properly again and live without pain.

Even though today’s post isn’t about donkeys, those who know me also know how deeply my heart belongs to turtles.

We wish this little one all the luck in the world and truly hope she makes a full recovery. ❤️🐢

And one more request from us to everyone out on the water: please slow down, especially when you’re close to the shore. A little more care and a little less speed can help prevent heartbreaking accidents like this and protect the amazing wildlife that shares these waters with us🙏🏼🌊

📺 This morning I had the pleasure of being a guest on “Dobro jutro, Podgorice” together with Montenegro Experte Michael 🇲🇪 Michael Bader.

If someone had told me a few years ago that I would one day be sitting in a Montenegrin TV studio, talking about my life, my donkeys, and my dream project, I probably wouldn’t have believed them.

The entire interview was in Montenegrin – a language I’m still learning. I definitely didn’t understand every single question 😄, but I did my best, and that’s what matters. Every new challenge is another step forward, and I’m grateful for every opportunity to learn and grow.

I’m especially thankful that I had the chance to share the story behind Donkey Trails Montenegro and to show a little piece of the beautiful country that has become my home. 🫏💚🇲🇪

A big thank you to the wonderful team at Televizija Podgorica for the warm welcome and the enjoyable conversation with Ana Šofranac Joksimović , and to Michael Bader for always being such great company.

🎥 I’ll share the full interview in the comments. It’s in Montenegrin, but maybe you’ll still enjoy getting a little glimpse behind the scenes of this special experience.

Sometimes life takes you places you never imagined… and those are often the most beautiful journeys. ❤️

Last night, the feature about Montenegro was broadcast on Germany’s ARD Tagesthemen, and I’m absolutely delighted that Donkey Trails Montenegro was part of it.🥰

Together with Montenegro expert Michael Bader, I shared some thoughts on how Montenegro can become even more attractive to visitors from Western Europe and the role that sustainable tourism experiences may play in the future.

I believe that many people today are looking for more than just a holiday destination. They want authentic experiences, nature, and memories that stay with them long after their trip. Montenegro offers incredible opportunities for exactly that.

And of course, my donkeys also got their little moment on television. 🫏🫏

If you missed the feature, you can watch it here:

https://youtu.be/D4yF7NzqdKs

Montenegro-Experte Michael Bader und Mona Wellmann bei den ARD-Tagesthemen (04.06.2026) Im Rahmen der Berichterstattung zum Westbalkan-Gipfel in Tivat stan...

What a wonderful and exciting day! 😊

Today, a TV crew from ARD’s news programme Tagesthemen joined us for part of one of our donkey hikes. We had the chance to show what Donkey Trails Montenegro is all about: nature, slowing down, and of course our wonderful donkeys.

The report will be broadcast tomorrow evening ahead of the coverage of the EU Summit. To be honest, I never expected that our small donkey trekking project in Montenegro would one day find its way into Tagesthemen.

A heartfelt thank you to our wonderful guests today. You were simply fantastic and made this special day even more memorable for us. ❤️

Whether we’ll end up on screen for 30 seconds or just a brief moment, we don’t know yet – but we’re excited either way. 😊

Now we’re looking forward to tomorrow evening!