Bella the dog, who was stranded at sea on a stricken vessel with Timothy Lyndsay Shaddock for three months, will not be accompanying the Australian sailor back home to Australia.
She will instead be adopted by one of the crew members from the Maria Delia, the Mexican tuna boat that rescued the pair.
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Her 54-year-old former owner adopted Bella out to Genaro Rosales on the condition that he take good care of her.
The decision may in part be due to the difficulty of bringing an animal into Australia, where we have strict import conditions.
Pets must come from an approved country. Mexico, where Bella is originally from, is not an approved country.
Bella would likely have to spend time in an approved country before she could then come to Australia, and would need to undergo extensive veterinary preparations before making the journey.
Shaddock previously expressed his gratitude to Bella, his sole companion during their three fateful months at sea.
“Bella found me in Mexico, she’s Mexican,” he said. “She is the spirit of the middle of the country, and she wouldn’t let me go.”
“She’s amazing, that dog is something else.
“I’m just grateful she’s alive. She’s a lot more brave than me.”
Shaddock and Bella set sail from the Mexican city of La Paz but were crippled by bad weather just weeks into the journey.
The Sydney man said the last time he saw land was in early May as he sailed out of the Sea of Cortez and into the Pacific. There was a full moon.
The crew of the Maria Delia, part of the Grupomar fleet, spotted Shaddock on his incapacitated catamaran Aloha Toa in the Pacific about 1900km from land, the company said.
A helicopter working with the fishing boat spotted him, tossed him a drink, flew away, and returned with a speedboat to rescue him on July 12. It was the first time Shaddock had seen other humans in three months.
Shaddock and Bella were in a “precarious” state when found, lacking provisions and shelter, the company said.
Once rescued, the tuna boat’s crew gave the pair medical attention, food and hydration, the company said, but the journey home didn’t start immediately.
“There were 55 tonnes of fish that we still had to get,” Shaddock said.
The tuna boat, captained by Oscar Meza Oregón, arrived in the Pacific coast port of Manzanillo on Tuesday with Shaddock and Bella.
Grupomar founder and president Antonio Suárez Gutiérrez said he was proud of his crew, praising them for their humanity in saving the life of someone in trouble.
“To the captain and this fishing company that saved my life, what do you say? I’m just so grateful,” Shaddock said.
Shaddock said he had been well-provisioned, but a storm knocked out his electronics and ability to cook. He and Bella survived on raw fish.
“I did a lot of fishing,” Shaddock said. “There was a lot of tuna sushi.”
Despite difficult times, and fears that he would not survive an impending hurricane, Shaddock said he still loves being alone on the ocean.
“I’ll always be in the water, I don’t know how far out in the ocean I’ll be,” he said. “There were many, many, many bad days and many good days.”
“I’m just so grateful. I’m alive, and I really didn’t think I’d make it.”
Shaddock said his highest priority now is to return home to Australia to spend time with his friends and family.
“I’m just going to get home and take it easy,” he said.
– With María Verza, AP
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