PEIA donkey from Nova Scotia is receiving care at the Atlantic Veterinary College at UPEI after high winds at the Confederation Bridge almost prevented his owners from getting him to the Island.Darcy the donkey and his owner couldn’t cross the Confederation Bridge overnight Tuesday because of high windsBrittany Spencer · CBC News · Posted: Nov 06, 2025 12:35 PM EST | Last Updated: 3 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 5 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Darcy the donkey, who lives with his owner near Peggy’s Cove, N.S., was experiencing heavy bleeding after being castrated earlier this week. His owner says her local vet tried to help, but couldn’t stop the bleeding. (Submitted by Mary Jane Hampton)A donkey from Nova Scotia is receiving care at the Atlantic Veterinary College at UPEI after high winds at the Confederation Bridge almost prevented his owner from getting him to the Island.Darcy the donkey, who lives with his owner Mary Jane Hampton near Peggy’s Cove, N.S., was experiencing heavy bleeding after being castrated earlier this week. Hampton said her local vet tried to help but Darcy would need a special surgery to stop the bleeding.“Things started going downhill pretty quickly and we needed to get him over to P.E.I.,” Hampton said.The AVC was the only place where Darcy could get the surgery he needed, but when he and Hampton arrived at the New Brunswick side of the Confederation Bridge at midnight, wind gusts had reached 95 km per hour and high-sided vehicles or those pulling a trailer were restricted from crossing.Darcy’s owner, Mary Jane Hampton, says she was overwhelmed by the support she received from people from all around the Maritimes. (Submitted by Mary Jane Hampton)“They told us that the bridge would not be opening for several hours,” she said. “Literally, I had my donkey bleeding out in my cargo trailer sitting in the holding parking lot.“I cannot begin to describe to you the feeling of hopelessness.” Desperate to find some way to get her donkey the help he needed, Hampton turned to social media. Offers to help came from across the MaritimesHampton made a post on her Facebook page asking for any help or advice to get Darcy across the bridge. Within minutes, the outpouring of support overwhelmed her. “The number of people — complete strangers — who stepped forward from the Island, from New Brunswick, from Nova Scotia, who were desperately trying to think of constructive solutions that we could come up with to solve the problem, it was amazing.” People offered to bring Darcy blankets to keep warm in the trailer. Some even offered to bring vehicles that wouldn’t fall under the wind restrictions that could possibly carry the donkey across the bridge. Hampton used her socks and jacket to try to keep Darcy’s ears warm while they waited in the parking lot to cross the Confederation Bridge. (Submitted by Mary Jane Hampton)Hampton said the staff working at the bridge that night also tried to help as much as they could. The RCMP even offered to escort Hampton across the bridge with her trailer, but winds were too high and it was too dangerous to try. “They were lovely, if there was anything they could have done to help us they would have,” she said. All the while, veterinarians at AVC were on the phone with Hampton, giving her advice and trying to help as much as they could without being able to cross the bridge.Hampton said she turned the trailer into a temporary ambulance, complete with IV drips hanging from the ceiling. She gave Darcy her socks and jacket to keep his ears warm as temperatures dropped. “There are just a whole bunch of really kind people and ultimately heroes that helped to figure this out on all parts,” she said. “It was a whole community of people trying to problem solve in an awful situation.” ‘He is in the best of hands’Despite all these efforts, Darcy’s condition wasn’t improving. After losing so much blood, Hampton feared he may need a transfusion. She called her local vet back in Windsor, N.S., who was taking care of Darcy’s brother, Dante. “They got blood from his brother and we turned around and went back to our vet and Dante basically saved his brother’s life,” Hampton said. The vet in Windsor was able to stabilize Darcy. Then Hampton got the call that the bridge would be opening.When it was clear the bridge wasn’t going to reopen, Hampton returned to her vet in Nova Scotia, where Darcy’s brother Dante was able to donate blood for a transfusion, something Hampton says saved Darcy’s life. (Submitted by Mary Jane Hampton)“We loaded Darcy back onto the trailer and came to the bridge and we saw it was open and we said, you know what, we’re just gunning it this time,” Hampton said with a laugh.Darcy finally arrived at AVC Wednesday night and is now getting the treatment he needs. Hampton said she’s incredibly grateful to all the people who offered them support in their journey to get there.“We got him there after an epic, 28-hour continuous drive. How do you achieve that between Nova Scotia and P.E.I.?” Hampton said.“He is in the best of hands and I think we’re all feeling confident, touching wood, that it’s going to have a good outcome.” Darcy will stay at AVC for another week or two while he recovers and is already showing signs of improvement and feeling more like himself. Hampton posted on her Facebook page that he’s eating and bright and already trying to escape from his stall, which she said “is probably the best sign of all.”ABOUT THE AUTHORBrittany Spencer is a multi-platform reporter and producer with CBC Prince Edward Island. She’s covered politics, health care and the justice system. She’s a graduate of Toronto Metropolitan University’s journalism program and joined CBC in 2017. You can reach her at brittany.spencer@cbc.caWith files from Island Morning
A donkey’s harrowing journey to get life-saving care at the Atlantic Veterinary College has a happy ending
