Sailor forced to abandon dog that ‘saved him’ while stranded at sea for months

Sailor Tim Shaddock has given up his beloved dog Bella after their miracle rescue this week (Picture: Ulises Ruiz)

Little Bella followed Tim Shaddock everywhere he went. 

When he tried to find a home for her in Mexico, time after time she refused to leave his side.

She chose Tim to be her owner – and the sailor obliged.

‘Bella sort of found me in the middle of Mexico,’ he said. ‘She wouldn’t let me go. I tried to find a home for her three times and she just kept following me on to the water.’

Earlier this week, the pair were miraculously rescued after spending three months together cut adrift in the Pacific Ocean, surviving by ‘eating a lot of sushi’ and ‘drinking rainwater’.

Even after they were saved, Bella didn’t want to leave Tim’s boat until he was driven away.

It makes it all the more heartbreaking that they can now no longer be together.

Tim said Bella ‘wouldn’t let him go’ after he first came across her in Mexico and ‘followed him on to the water’ (Picture: AFP)

Tim, an Australian national, is returning to his home country to spend time with friends and family after his real-life Tom Hanks in Cast Away-esque ordeal.

The 54-year-old is leaving his beloved pooch in the capable hands of one of the crew members on board the tuna trawler Marie Delia that came to his aid. 

He has chosen Genaro Rosales to adopt Bella on the condition that he would take good care of her.

His decision has likely also been somewhat forced upon him due to the complex, strict and costly nature of the process required to bring pets into Australia.

One of the Maria Delia crew members has adopted Bella (Picture: AP)

It would be very difficult for Tim to bring Bella with him back to Australia (Picture: AP)

Dogs must be vaccinated, microchipped and undergo a quarantine period before they are fully allowed into the country from ‘approved nations’.

Unfortunately, Mexico is not on the list of approved countries for pet importation in Australia, which makes it even more difficult to bring Bella with him.

After they were brought to safety, Tim described Bella, who was an instant hit with the boat crew, as ‘amazing’ and said: ‘She’s a lot braver than I am, that’s for sure.’

When asked how Bella was, he replied: ‘That dog is something else. She’s a beautiful animal. I’m just grateful she’s alive.’

Tim described Bella as ‘something else’ and said she’s a ‘beautiful animal’ (Picture: AFP)

Australian sailor Tim Shaddock gave a thumbs up after arriving at the port of Manzanillo in Mexico on Tuesday, having survived at sea for three months on his small catamaran (Picture: AFP)

Ocean survival expert Professor Mike Tipton also said having his companion at his side ‘may well have made the difference’ between life and death.

He told The Sun: ‘You’re living very much from day to day. You have to have a very positive mental attitude to get through this kind of ordeal and not give up.’

Tim admitted he ‘didn’t think he would make it’ when his catamaran was badly damaged by adverse weather just weeks into a 3,700-mile voyage from La Paz on Mexico’s Baja Peninsula heading west to French Polynesia.

Despite being well-provisioned, the storm left him without electricity, navigation systems or the ability to cook, meaning both he and Bella were living off raw fish.

Tim and Bella survived off raw fish and rainwater (Picture: AP)

The last time he saw land was in early May as he sailed out of the Sea of Cortez and into the Pacific during a full moon.

Almost three months after setting off, by sheer luck, the helicopter from the Marie Delia fishing boat spotted his catamaran around 1,200 miles from land 

The pilot tossed him a drink and then flew away, returning later with a speedboat from the trawler.

Emotional footage captured the incredible moment an incredibly relieved Tim and his dog Bella – who excitedly wagged her tail – realised they had been saved.

The crew of a Mexican tuna vessel rescued Tim and Bella from his catamaran (Picture: AFP)

Grupomar, which operates the fishing fleet, said both Tim and his dog were in a ‘precarious’ state when they were found, lacking provisions and shelter.

It also said that the crew gave them medical attention, food and hydration before they were hauled to the city of Manazillo in Mexico.

Tim said: ‘To the captain and this fishing company that saved my life, what do you say? I’m just so grateful. I’m alive and didn’t really think I’d make it.

‘I feel really good. I’ve been struggling – the health was pretty bad for a while. I was pretty hungry and I didn’t think I’d make it through the storm.

‘But now I’m really doing good.’

Grupomar president Antonio Suarez and Tim Shaddock together during a welcoming ceremony after the sailor was rescued (Picture: AP)

Tim passed the time at sea by fixing things and stayed positive by going into the sea to ‘just enjoy being in the water’.

He added: ‘I did enjoy being at sea, I enjoyed being out there. But when things get tough out there you have to survive. And then when you get saved, you feel like you want to live, so I’m very grateful.’

Antonio Suarez, Grupomar’s president, said this could be the Maria Delia’s final trip because he is modernising the company’s fleet and the boat is its smallest and is more than 50 years old.

If so, it would be a ‘marvellous farewell, saving human lives’, Mr Suarez said.

In February a man identified as Elvis Francois was rescued by the Colombian navy after 24 days adrift in the Caribbean on a sailboat.

Last year a Brazilian gardener named Nelson Nedy was found on a deserted island after five days of living off two lemons and charcoal.

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The little pooch followed him everywhere.