Life With Lilo

14th Aug, 2024

Written by Bianca Peens

Photography by Elsa van Ginkel

Lilo and her brother Stitch were dumped at two days old. They were both born without front legs. They were uplifted by Place A Pup rescue organisation, and Jessica, the director, immediately started bottle feeding them and got them stronger.

The two were inseparable and always sleeping snuggled on top of each other. They are such a bonded pair of amazing little souls.

When they were 4 weeks old, Jessica contacted me and asked if I'd be able to adopt them as I've taken special-needs babies from them before. I immediately got in the car - at 10 p.m. to fetch my Worsies.

In the coming days, little Stitch got sicker and sicker. I took him through to Valley Farm Vet, where they established with a sonar that Stitchy had an underdeveloped pancreas and was unable to produce insulin, which caused hypoglycaemic comas. While they were working on him, his little heart stopped, and we lost a beautiful soul.

Lilo weighed just 740g when she came to me, and we instantly had a bond. Little Lilo became the centre of my universe and demanded all my attention. She grew stronger by the day and, in time, was hopping about. Pretty soon, she started sitting upright and playing vigorously with her siblings.

We got wheels for her through Vesper On Wheels (https://www.happytailsmagazine.co.za/articles/features/vesper-on-wheels/) and the amazing Judy Jooste, but Lilo wanted nothing to do with her wheels, so we decided to let her be. She jumps around and is as happy as can be. She has learned to communicate with us when she wants water or when she needs to go for a wee or poop.

At a mere 740g, a little 4-week-old baba when we got her, we are now going on 2 years, and she's a healthy, bouncy little girl with the biggest ears and a big overbite – but she's perfect. She is the absolute love of our lives, and her little attitude and big ears make her one of a kind.

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