DStv Channel 403 Saturday, 15 February 2025

Australian castaway's dog gets new life with 'second dad' in Mexico

Australian sailor Tim Shaddock has said Bella the dog 'is a lot braver than I am'

MANZANILLO - Bella, the dog who survived more than two months at sea on raw fish and rainwater with stranded Australian sailor Tim Shaddock, has found a new life in Mexico with a "second dad" and a pug "brother."

Bella ended up stuck with Shaddock on a storm-struck catamaran in the Pacific Ocean for weeks until they were rescued last weekend by a passing tuna vessel and brought to shore in Mexico.

Shaddock decided not take Bella back home with him to Australia, worried the long journey would be too stressful on top of Bella's recent ordeal.

But the story has a happy next chapter.

Bella has been adopted by Genaro Rosales, a crew member of the tuna vessel that brought her to shore, and a self-proclaimed "lover of dogs and all animals."

"I was one of the first to have contact with her," Rosales told AFP in the western port of Manzanillo where Shaddock and Bella arrived on Tuesday. 

"I was the one who hugged her, to get her on one of the (two) small boats" in which he and three companions approached the stricken catamaran.

'Second dad' Genaro Rosales with Bella
AFP | ULISES RUIZ

"She was happy when she saw us."

Shaddock and Bella had set off from La Paz in Mexico in April, and planned to sail about 6,000 kilometers before dropping anchor in French Polynesia.

They soon found themselves stranded after rough seas damaged the boat and knocked out its electronics.

In a rescue reminiscent of the Tom Hanks movie "Cast Away," the bedraggled amateur yachtsman and his dog were plucked from the water "more than 1,200 miles from land," according to fishing company Grupomar that owns the tuna vessel.

After arriving back on dry land, Shaddock said Bella "is much braver than I am."

Of her origins, he told reporters the dog had "sort of found me in the middle of Mexico" and then stuck by his side.

"She wouldn't let me go. I tried to find a home for her maybe three times and she just kept following me onto the water.

"She's a beautiful animal. I'm just grateful she's alive."

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