Dumped on a doorstep before his eyes even opened, Lemon's survival was an absolute miracle.
The newborn puppy was no more than 24-hours old when RSPCA South Australia Rescue Officer Jo rushed to save him.
Helpless Lemon had been abandoned on the steps of a Golden Grove veterinary clinic overnight and was so small that he literally fit in the palm of Jo's hand.
"He was the tiniest puppy I had ever seen," she recalls.
"I wasn't even sure he would survive the day."
With no time to waste, Rescue Officer Jo wrapped Lemon in soft blankets, placed him atop a gently warmed heat pad and raced him to our shelter.
Our worried veterinarians gave baby Lemon just a 20% chance of survival.
For this tiny Maltese puppy who had survived the freezing night without shelter, food or warmth, it wasn't looking good.
Lemon wouldn't have made it if Jo weren't there to rescue him that day. Will you please support us with a donation, so we can keep rescue officers on the road to to help other vulnerable and abandoned newborns?
Experienced foster carer and RSPCA staff member Deb immediately offered to look after the helpless puppy, all the while knowing a difficult road lay ahead.
Like many orphan puppies, one reason Lemon's survival rate was so low was because he was missing out on the rich antibodies and growth hormones present in a mother's milk.
For the first two weeks, Deb bottle-fed fragile Lemon every two hours with a specially formulated and highly nutritious puppy milk.
"It's expensive, but it gave him the best chance of survival," Deb says.
Unfortunately, Lemon is far from the last orphaned baby animal who will rely on round-the-clock care to survive. Will you please give a gift to save more of these helpless animals?
It was support from compassionate people like you that gave Lemon the chance to survive his dangerous first few days, against some seriously tough odds, and bottle feeding wasn't the only thing Lemon needed to stay alive.
Deb weighed him every day and checked his temperature frequently to make sure he was steadily gaining weight and didn't go into life-threatening shock.
In addition to hours of love and care, Lemon needed warm blankets, a soft bed, heating aids, sterilised bottles, neonatal milk formula and, eventually, immunisations – just like all orphaned baby animals.
By the time Lemon was six weeks old, he moved to his next foster home with Nicole and Tyler.
"RSPCA made it possible for us to foster Lemon by taking care of everything financially. They were always there to support us when needed so we were able to give Lemon the best possible care," Nicole says.
But we couldn't have done it without you. We hope you can continue to make the foster care and continued recovery of baby animals possible by supporting us with a donation today.
And a happy ending was just around the corner.
As soon as Lemon was ready for adoption Nicole jumped at the chance of a 'foster fail' and welcomed the adorable Maltese into her home forever.
Lemon is now officially the family superstar. He attends every Christmas, birthday and special occasion, making everyone happy with his big doggy smile.
"It just isn't the same when he isn't here," Nicole says.
When the cheeky little one isn't lapping up his family's attention, he can be found running figure eights around his favourite flower beds.
Lemon also loves hanging out in his special doggy tent with his toy friends, including his favourite toy rat - a gift of comfort he was given while still in RSPCA care at the very start of his journey.
But his outcome could have been so different.
Little Lemon would have died without foster care, and he would have been alone.
We are so grateful that ours supporters made sure we could be there for Lemon during his rough start to life, so that he could grow healthy and strong and find a loving home.
Hundreds of neonatal animals come into the care of RSPCA every year, and they need your help to survive. Will you invest in the future of more baby animals?
There really is nothing more rewarding than giving the gift of life.
Lemon only has people like you to thank for his survival. To save more baby animals and help them find a loving home, please donate today.
