SUPERDOG Misza is fighting fit again after giving birth to five puppies that were slowly killing her.

Holly Carbutt, of Higham, is the owner of the two-and-a-half-year-old Chihuahua and her new brood.

She says it was a huge shock to be told her dog was having five puppies because they usually have only two due to their size.

However she was told not to worry and Misza eventually gave birth to the pups a month ago.

But delight turned to concern as the 22-year-old noticed her dog had lost a lot of weight and was quite skinny.

"Everything was fine then one night my mum rang saying Misza wasn't very well.

"When i saw her she looked so ill, like she was dying, but was still laid there with legs stretched out ready to feed her pups.

"It breaks your heart thinking about it, but she was killing herself to feed her babies."

Holly didn't want to leave the dog in such a dire state and took her to emergency vets in Dewsbury. It turned out the new mum had a calcium deficiency from giving birth.

According to a vet at the surgery, had Holly waited any longer to take her in for treatment Misza would have been dead within two hours.

She was put on a calcium drip and luckily pulled through after a few days but wasn't allowed to feed her pups which had to be hand fed.

One close call soon turned into another when one of the pups fell ill shortly after mum.

"Everything seemed fine but then one of the pups fell ill so he's had to be hand reared because we nearly lost him. He's a lot better now though.

"Actually it was on a night when Barnsley FC were playing and my dad decided to call him Bogdanovic after the striker who scored. Dad swears that's why he's pulled through."