Finding Nestle wasn’t a ‘quik’ mission
The break-through finally came when Nestle was spotted hiding deep in the bush.
It’s what the South Coast community does best – rally together in a crisis!
So when veterinarian, Dr Claire Norton’s beloved Great Dane puppy Nestle went missing last Tuesday, the South Coast community united to help find the missing hound.
Dr Norton and her family were away on holiday when Nestle fell sick and was brought to the Bulwer Street Veterinary practice for treatment.
But, the large, strong and clever dog ‘freaked out’ and managed to get off the leash and bolt into the nearby bushes.
A massive search operation unfolded – with veterinarian, Dr Hugo Voigts and Thami Shazi from the practice – together with many friends, searching around the clock to find Nestle.
It appeared that every time someone came near a terrified Nestle, he crept further and further into the thicket.
Karel Beetge from Gladiator together with his tracking dog, Zulu also searched extensively through thorns and thick bush. This was the first time that Beetge used Zulu to track another dog.
Four days later (Friday, March 17) employees from the Norton’s farm and the vet practice circled the bushy area where they believed Nestle was hiding.
The break-through finally came when Dr Voigts and Shazi spotted Nestle hiding deep in the bush.
They managed to get him to relax by playing voice recordings from Dr Norton and her family.
Dr Voigts then leopard crawled into the bush and darted Nestle. They then had to hack through the bush to get Nestle to safety.
After much rest, Nestle has recovered from his adventurous ‘trip to the vet’.
Dr Norton said they are grateful for the love and support shown by everyone, even to those who shared and circulated the post on social media and on WhatsApp.
“What an amazing, massive team effort! A special thank you to everyone that prayed and searched for him. We are blessed to live in such a special community,” she said.
She extended a heartfelt thanks to Dr Voigts who used his military training to track Nestle’s footprints. “If it wasn’t for our hero Dr Voigts, we probably wouldn’t have found him,” she said.
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