Couple who found a stray dog who was ‘just skin and bone’ during dream trip to Barbados spend £3,500 bringing him home – and have even received thousands from well-wishers as they try to raise funds to fix his broken paw
- Georgia Harding, 22, and boyfriend Sam Blackburn found Simba in Barbados
- The couple were on holiday when they found the stray slumped by the road side
- Simba was too exhausted to run away and looked like ‘just skin and bone’
- Paid £3,500 to bring him home and now face bills of £8,200 to operate on paw
A couple enjoying a dream holiday in Barbados have spent thousands of pounds rescuing a stray dog that they found slumped on the side of the road.
Georgia Harding, 22, from Liverpool, and her boyfriend Sam Blackburn discovered the broken-looking animal after taking a wrong turn and explained that he was so weak he seemed to be ‘just skin and bone’.
The couple later named the dog Simba and spent £3,500 on bringing him home and adopting him – but now face further bills of £8,200 to operate on his broken paw.
Remarkably, the pair have already received nearly £4,000 from well-wishers through their fundraising page.
Georgia Harding (pictured with her pet), 22, from Liverpool, came across Simba the stray while she was on holiday in Barbados
Along with her boyfriend Sam Blackburn (pictured together), Georgia stumbled across Simba lying by the side of the road after they took a wrong turn
Georgia said: ‘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.’
Simba was one of two dogs that the couple rescued while in Barbados and they successfully found a home for the other female pet after advertising her on Facebook.
Georgia said that Simba’s confidence grew daily and that his health started to improve to the point that she could see he had a fighting chance of surviving.
Georgia said that Simba was too exhausted to even run away from her and Sam when they approached him – despite being visibly terrified
Simba was one of two dogs that Georgia and Sam rescued while on holiday – and they successfully found a good home for the other dog through Facebook
However, a suitable home couldn’t be found for Simba and unable to leave him on his own, the couple decided to adopt him.
‘I was distraught and couldn’t leave him,’ Georgia admitted. ‘We got him chipped, treated and managed to get it sorted so that he could come home with us.’
After being held in isolation for 21 days Simba was allowed to join his new family last week. But upon arriving in the UK, Georgia and Sam were told that Simba had a broken paw and needed an expensive operation to fix it or risk losing his leg to amputation.
The couple paid £3,500 to get Simba into the country and face a further £8,200 in costs for Simba to have the operation and receive medicine.
After spending £3,500 to bring Simba back home with them, the couple now face bills of up to £8,200 to operate on Simba’s leg to fix his broken paw or face having to have it amputated
They have set up a GoFundMe page and to date have raised more than £3,700 but are appealing for further donations.
Georgia said: ‘He is desperate to play and jump 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.
‘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.’