Written by Jeff Mackey
"Shanthi" means "peace, rest, calmness, tranquility, or bliss." So it's appropriate that Shanthi and her friends (pictured below) enjoy such a blissful life at a sanctuary in India—but that wasn't always the case.
© Aneesh S
Once, these little donkeys worked all day long in the blistering heat, carrying heavy loads of bricks from the fiery kilns starting at dawn. At night, they were left to root through garbage and dirt in the hope of finding enough nourishment to survive. Animal Rahat, which PETA supports, rescued Shanthi and all the other survivors of accidents involving trucks and cars and arranged for their retirement. Now, they live, jump, run, and play with their rescued friends from the streets—and they'll never be beaten again.
Animal Rahat saves the lives of India's working animals. To help animals such as Shanthi and his pals, please make a generous donation to Animal Rahat.
If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
Follow PETA on Twitter!