Donkey rescue group's Collinsville hospital aims to treat auction animals closer to the sale
Oscar's Place says its Grayson County center will examine rescued donkeys about an hour from the auction instead of days after a long haul. The group's first-and-only claim has not been independently established.
Oscar's Place, a donkey rescue group, says its new hospital in Collinsville, in Grayson County, is meant to put donkeys bought at auction in front of a veterinarian about an hour from the sale. The organization calls the Center for the Advancement of Donkeys a hospital devoted exclusively to donkey care. (Oscar's Place)
The group describes the site as the nation's first and only donkey hospital, including on its official LinkedIn page. That first-and-only claim has not been independently established. (LinkedIn)
Ron King of Oscar's Place announced in an Aug. 19, 2026, interview on the Talking Animals site that the hospital would open Sept. 5, with its first patients expected Sept. 6. The interview establishes the announced schedule. The actual start of operations remains unconfirmed. (Interview)
Collinsville is in Grayson County, according to the city's public notices. In Gainesville, Independence Equine & Small Animal Clinic lists Collinsville among the communities it serves. Its website lists diagnostics, surgery, dentistry and equine care and describes a practice that treats horses, cats and dogs. (City of Collinsville; Independence Equine & Small Animal Clinic)
Oscar's Place dates its auction rescue, rehabilitation and rehoming work to 2021. The group says rescued donkeys used to face a 32-hour trailer trip before reaching its care, with veterinary exams coming days after purchase. It says the Collinsville center is intended to assess and treat the animals before they are sent on to California.
From a 32-hour haul to care near the sale
Before the Collinsville center
Rescued donkeys faced a 32-hour trailer trip before reaching Oscar's Place care, with veterinary exams coming days after purchase.
Previously
Collinsville center
About an hour from the auction; donkeys are to be assessed and treated before transport to California.
Intended
The group's published facilities include 14 heated and cooled stalls, an on-site laboratory and pharmacy, an isolation ward, separate housing for infectious-disease recovery and 40 acres of recovery pasture. Oscar's Place also lists collecting clinical data, training veterinarians and advancing donkey medicine among the center's goals. A recruiting notice from the group's executive-search firm puts the whole organization at more than 210 donkeys in care and about 21 employees. Those figures cover the organization, not the hospital alone. (Recruiting notice)
Donkey care in Texas did not begin with this project. Texas A&M reported in fall 2011 that its collaboration with Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue had completed four visits and about 70 donkey castrations, with students working under faculty supervision. Daingerfield Veterinary Hospital in East Texas lists care for horses, donkeys and mules, including dentistry, radiology and ultrasound.
The American Association of Equine Practitioners reports that about 1.3% of new veterinary graduates enter equine practice directly and another 4.5% take equine internships. Within five years, according to the association, half leave for small-animal practice or leave veterinary medicine. It created a workforce sustainability commission in 2022. (AAEP)
of new veterinary graduates enter equine practice directly
Another 4.5% enter equine internships. Within five years, half leave for small-animal practice or leave veterinary medicine.
In Britain, The Donkey Sanctuary's 2017 annual report records the May 2017 opening of its Brookfield Farm hospital in Devon. The report says the hospital replaced an older one and provided treatment and veterinary training. In an April 25, 2026, statement, the charity reported more than 17,000 veterinary examinations and more than 90 surgeries in the preceding year.
Join the conversation