Sometimes we don’t choose our pets, they move in with us. This seems to be the case with Australian sailor Timothy Shaddock and his dog, Bella. Tim is so glad this good girl found him in Mexico because she turned out to be just the adventure buddy he needed when the pair got lost at sea.
Now Bella has found her forever home with one of her and Tim’s rescuers. Fisherman Genaro Rosales has promised to take excellent care of this seafaring pooch. This loyal canine deserves only the best.
"Bella sort of found me in the middle of Mexico," Tim explained. "She's Mexican. She’s the spirit of the middle of the country, and she wouldn’t let me go. I tried to find a home for her three times, and she just kept following me onto the water. She’s a lot braver than I am, that’s for sure."
Tim and Bella were attempting to sail from Le Paz, Mexico, to French Polynesia. They began their 3,000-mile journey together in April. A storm hit and wiped out all of the vessel’s electronic devices, leaving them stranded. Thankfully, in addition to his therapy pup, Tim still had the needed smarts and fishing gear to survive until his rescue. He and Bella survived off rainwater and raw fish.
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It would take three months for help to find them. It came in the form of a helicopter working with the tuna trawler Maria Delia. Tim and Bella were spotted off the coast of Mexico. Bella’s companionship helped Tim get through the ordeal.
Post rescue, Tim plans to go visit his family in Australia. He is naturally leery of getting back into the open ocean. "I'll always be in the water, I don't know how far out in the ocean again I'll be, I just love nature," he mused.
