British Couple Pay £3,500 To Bring Stray Dog Home After Finding Him In Barbados

A couple on a dream holiday in Barbados ended up spending thousands rescuing a stray dog they found slumped by the road who was 'just skin and bone'.

Georgia Harding and her boyfriend Sam Blackburn found the dog, now called Simba, and immediately fell in love.

Liverpool Echo

Georgia, 22, from Liverpool, said: "We were driving and took a wrong turn and found Simba slumped on the side of the road. He was just skin and bone. He was terrified but didn't even have the energy to run away.

"We took him to the vet who said he was being eaten alive by ticks and wouldn't last 48 hours, but we saved him."

She added: "Every day his confidence grew, his health improved and we could see he was in with a fighting chance."

The couple originally found two dogs but they managed to find a home for the female dog in Barbados, after advertising them on a Facebook post.

Liverpool Echo

Unfortunately, because Simba was so sick they were unable to find him a new home.

Georgia continued: "I was distraught and couldn't leave him. We got him chipped, treated and managed to get it sorted so that he could come home with us."

Simba needed to be in isolation for 21 days, but last week he made it to his new home.

Sadly, after he was checked out by UK vets, they found he had a broken paw, meaning he would either have to undergo expensive surgery or have the leg amputated.

Georgia and her boyfriend have already paid around £3,500 ($4,500) to get Simba into the country and with the additional surgery, post operational therapy and medicine expected to cost around £8,200 ($10,700), they have set up a GoFundMe to help cover the costs.

Liverpool Echo

Georgia said: "He is desperate to play and jumping around on it, so we're in the process of getting it sorted. We need to get a second opinion because the vets said surgery could fix his leg but it would cost a lot of money.

"We're up the wall because it has cost so much money to even get him home. He is absolutely gorgeous. He is home safe and sound and settling in very well, he just is dead loving and wants love.

"We only have one shot of getting it right with his leg though and we would be gutted if we didn't try hard enough."

To donate to Simba's vet costs, visit Georgia's GoFundMe here.

Topics: Community, Animals

Rebecca Shepherd

I'm Becky - a journalist at LADbible. I graduated with a First Class BA in Journalism before going on to cover criminal court cases, medical tribunals and breaking news for the national media - which inevitably and eventually became as glum as it sounds. Can often be found rocking a bag for life - which I made a 'thing' way before Rihanna. You can contact me at [email protected]

@RJShepherd94