Can you believe that little Nala has been at Twilight for over three years? Sweet little Nala Noo arrived just in time for Christmas 2015. She was rescued from Romania by the wonderful French Association, Remember Me. The sweet little Balkan princess only had the use of her two front legs, having suffered a spinal fracture, probably due to a traffic accident. Nala’s original name was Life. But, this didn’t really roll off the tongue, so Leeanne changed it to Nala: in Swahili, Nala means Gift. The Gift of Life.

Nala doesn’t always get the same amount of publicity as some of the other puds (well, she does have her own Facebook page!) but that doesn’t mean she has not got her own fan club, and a character that is just beyond incredible. She weighs up everyone, then when she likes you, that’s it – she loves you. And Nala does not know she has a problem of any sort and woe betide any pud who thinks they can pinch her treat or the croquettes in her dish.

During her time at Twilight Nala has received first class medical care, including MRI scans and orthopaedic consultations. Unfortunately, her back operation in 2017 did not produce the hoped-for results, but this did not bother our feisty girl one bit. She just got one with life – the wonderful life of a Twilight pud. (Though we must confess she is not very keen on swimming, preferring to leave that to water-baby Dobbie!)

When you have a paraplegic pet, you inevitably have issues. All these to be managed and all that becomes part of daily life. For Nala, she wees and dribbles much of the time. Keeping her clean is important, so shaving her bum to help keep the fur short and manageable. Nala likes to be clean, and moves away well, and never sleeps on soiled bedding. She gives you the eye, and it is changed regularly! But she does love to hop and skip down the garden, and this in turn has led to cuts to her rear dragging legs.

Over the years we have tried all sorts: drag bags, wheels, dressings and boots. Thanks to her main sponsor, we can afford to change her dressings daily or as needed, and with meds and vet care, she has done so, so well. But, recently due to the poor circulation in her legs is poor (she has meds to help this) an infection set in. Sadly, this is not new to us, but this resulted in her having her left rear leg amputated. We could have taken the decision to put her down, but she deserves more, and if you can see her smiles now you would be hard pushed to disagree.

Following her operation and some dedicated nursing from Auntie Anne. Nala is in the finest fettle. She was in a bit of mood for about an hour as she came around from the op, but she was soon wanting to walk on her proud new stump! And she was soon well enough to go back home in time for the Open Day, where Nala received two very special visitors.

Nala is lucky to have some wonderful sponsors who have helped with her costs, and we thank them all, from the bottom of our hearts. At our recent Open Day weekend, one family of sponsors came to meet her – making a round trip of over 700 km. Nala was very interested to meet these new people, she says that next time they may get a lick. Nala oversaw all this, as she does, what a special girl