Neshima beats the odds... with a little help from her friends

28 August 2009

Seven weeks ago an RSPCA Inspector found a tiny puppy – reckoned to be no more than 48 hours old - abandoned in a back yard.

She was immediately brought to the RSPCA in Malaga where she examined by a vet and then fed with a replacement for the mother’s milk she wasn’t receiving. It was a worrying time because nothing was known about the tiny pup, other than she looked like a Rottweiler cross kelpie and desperately needed our help.

That day, RSPCA spokesman Richard Barry decided to foster the puppy and named her ‘Neshima’ – meaning ‘My Soul’ in Hebrew.

Staff with experience of hand-rearing puppies showed Richard how to feed Neshima using a bottle and how to help her pee using cotton wool. He’d have to become her mother for the following weeks if she was going to survive.

“I had absolutely no idea what I was letting myself in for,” said Richard, “I knew I’d have to bottle-feed and that was fine but what I didn’t know was just how often.”

That night Richard was woken up every two hours by a hungry Neshima demanding her bottle “I think I looked like death warmed up for the next few days because I didn’t get any sleep, so I called in reinforcements”.

Four days after her arrival, Neshima now had another two foster carers from the RSPCA – Donna and Rochelle – and a schedule was set in place to ensure Neshima got her round-the-clock feeds and her foster carers got some sleep on their days off!

A month later and Neshima was thriving, easily trebling her weight and well on her way to healthy future.

Then disaster struck.

“She wasn’t herself one Sunday, being generally listless,” said Richard. “I decided to take her to the vet. She was diagnosed with parvovirus. I was devastated but took her immediately to VetWest in Hillaries, where she was put on an IV drip and given all the expert attention she needed.”

It was touch and go for the month-old pup. Rejected by her mother and abandoned by her owner, she now had to face a life-threatening illness. By day three, she was very ill indeed and required a plasma transfusion.

“I knew in my heart she’d pull through,” said Barry, “but knowing she was so ill with that most deadly of diseases… Let’s just say that for everyone involved in looking after Neshima, it was a very worrying time.”

A week later and the tiny pup who’d had such an uncertain start to life was ready to leave hospital and begin her recuperation with another foster carer, Linda, who took over while Richard was in England.

Today, seven weeks after she first arrived, Neshima is a beautiful, affectionate and incredibly intelligent little dog who is preparing to make her second appearance on 6PR’s weekend show with Brendon Weselman.

“Nesh will be on 6PR this Sunday at 10.05am before being returned to the RSPCA where she will finally be put up for adoption. “It’s an incredible feeling for all of us who have been involved with getting her to this stage,” said Richard. “Donna, Rochelle, Linda and myself are all overjoyed that she has made it and Sunday could be her very special day if a 6PR listener is ready to take our little girl home and give her the life she so thoroughly deserves.”

If you think you could offer Neshima a lifetime of commitment and love, please contact us on 9209 9300 or visit us at 108 Malaga Drive, Malaga.

Read Part One of Neshima's story here

The RSPCA reserves the right to decide which family Neshima goes to based on the circumstances of applicants interested in adopting her.