Daktari Bush School and Animal Orphanage in South Africa

It took us a while to have the heart to tell you the sad end story of Fleur the baby waterbuck.

Everything was ready for the second night. The volunteers took the first shift from 23H00 to 03H00 in the morning. Her bed was very confortable and Candy our dog had made sure Fleur wouldn't be cold. She pushed, with her nose, the dry grass all around Fleur, on her back, to make sure she wouldn't be cold and sat next to her on a blanket. We also put some hot water bottle and more blankets to keep her very warm. The night was long and toward 02H00, Fleur started, unfortunately, to show some weakness.

When Ian and Michele arrived for their shift from 03H00 to sun rise, they found Fleur very weak. Michele sat with Fleur's head on her lap and already we all new that the chance of survival were very very slim. There was nothing none of us could do, the drip was still on, Fleur had all the anti-biotic and injections necessary to fight the parasites. We could only pray and stay by her side. Candy didn't leave Fleur one second, checking on her all the time. At 4H00 Fleur gave her last breathing, in Michele's hand while Ian tried to resuscitate her, massaging her heart. Candy at the same time started to panic and was also licking our little Fleur to bring her back to life.

After all our efforts to save Fleur, the silence seemed very heavy. The sun was already rising and it would be another sad day for Daktari. Candy stayed there for a long time, looking at Michele, sharing her helplessness and misery.