NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) — Ricardo the Bull, who captured the Tri-State area’s heart after running loose on New Jersey Transit tracks and causing massive delays last month, was hospitalized for a nasty infection that needs to clear up before he can return to his home at Skylands Animal Sanctuary & Hospital.
According to Skylands, Ricardo had a half-dollar sized road rash on his leg when he arrived at the Wantage, NJ sanctuary, and he was put on antibiotics. By Christmas Eve, the small wound became inflamed.
Caretakers at the sanctuary saw this and decided to take him to Cornell Large Animal Hospital. Once there, personnel determined he had an infection and began treatment.
The area was cleaned, and veterinarians put a hard cast on his leg to prevent Ricardo from bending, as the wound was right at the joint on his hock, Skylands said.
The wound continues to be cleaned and Ricardo is receiving the medicine he needs as the infection diminishes.
Michael Stura, President of Skylands, told 1010 WINS/WCBS 880 that the hospital has seemingly killed off the infection, and everything moving forward is preventative, to make sure the physical wound closes and he doesn’t develop another infection.
“He is at the best large animal hospital on the planet,” a Facebook post from Skylands reads.
Ricardo is to stay at the hospital until he is completely healed, and the sanctuary said that they “will not be putting him at risk of developing another infection to save money or so [they] can feel happy that he is here with [them].”
“To me, it’s fantastic that we all identify with this one animal, and so many people do. And that’s why I give them, you know, human names. That’s why his name isn’t ‘Spot.’ I want people to see them as an individual,” Stura said.