Dotty the donkey has been awarded the PDSA Certificate for Animal Bravery after she courageously fought off a frenzied pitbull which was attacking her paddock mate, Stanley the sheep.
Farmer Ann Rogers, 63, who witnessed the rescue, said: ‘She just sprang into action. The dog had its jaws clamped around Stanley. . Dotty clamped her teeth around the dog’s back and was biting down hard for a couple of minutes.'
‘Eventually the pain must have become too much and the dog ran off.
According to news souces, Dotty then chased the dog out of the field before returning to nurse her injured companion.
According to the PDSA, donkeys are naturally stoical and protective animals
The pitbull, which also bit two horses in the face at the farm in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, was later put down.
Stanley lost two teeth and suffered facial paralysis in the attack two years ago, but yesterday was with Dotty, 12, as she was honoured with a bravery award by a charity, the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals.
The pair met five years ago when Mrs Rogers rescued a frail Dotty tethered at the roadside. She already had Stanley, an orphaned newborn.