Meet Little Timmy, a donkey foal who was (literally!) born yesterday at the Donegal Donkey Sanctuary in Ireland.

Because his mom, Twilight, suffered some trauma before she was rescued from a forest in south Donegal, Timmy was born with a deformity in his hind legs that keeps him from walking and feeding properly. Twilight is trying to help him walk by nudging him gently.

His little hind legs are currently bent and twisted and he has a severe problem with tendons around the fetlock area.

With surgery and dedicated care, Timmy’s vet is confident that he will be able to lead a happy and pain-free life with his fellow donkey rescues at the sanctuary, but the high cost of the treatment – $8,375 (€7,500) – would be too great a strain on the sanctuary’s resources for them to fund all of it by themselves.

Donegal couple Sandra and Danny Curran, who opened the sanctuary in 2007 after rescuing a donkey who had been abandoned tied to a scrapped car in a nearby bog, are looking to fellow animal lovers around the world to help cover the cost of treatment.

Donations of any size via the GoFundMe page will be greatly appreciated, they told IrishCentral.

Timmy's mom, Twilight, is also doing her best to help him.

The Sanctuary takes in donkeys that have suffered years of abuse and neglect or those from loving families who can no longer afford to look after them or are otherwise incapable of keeping the donkeys themselves. The Sanctuary has grown dramatically in the past nine years with Danny now working for it full-time and Sandra acting as lead volunteer.

Help is always appreciated, of course, and you can adopt or foster one of the gentle animals in their care by providing a small regular donation in return for as many visits to the donkey at the sanctuary as your heart desires.

Click here to make a donation for Little Timmy, and keep up with all the adorable residents of the Donegal Donkey Sanctuary on their website.