A Suffolk police officer who was one of two from the county to help with relief efforts at the hurricane-struck British Virgin Island of Tortola in September has been reunited after two months with the dog he rescued there.
On one job guarding aid supplies a stray dog found the two officers, and instantly struck a bond with PC Harvey.
He fed the stray, who he affectionately named Buddy, a cold ration pack, and got him checked over by a vet.
“I calmed him down and when he put his paws round me and his head in my lap I knew he didn’t want me to leave,” Jon said.
“I knew then he was coming home.”
Checking that Buddy was not on the missing animals list, microchipped or living with another owner, the process began to bring Buddy back to the UK, thanks to help from vets, a family the two officers helped and the Humane Society International.
The labrador cross, believed to be aged around two or three, was sent to a vet in Washington DC, where the Humane Society International is based, and served his quarantine there.
Buddy was flown to Heathrow by Virgin Atlantic for free, and on Friday, November 17 was reunited with PC Harvey at the airport more than 4,200 miles away.
“He came through the reception centre doors and was pulling towards the front doors, but he saw me and came back, his tail was going, licking me and hugging me,” PC Harvey said.
“He’s as good as gold – he sleeps right through the night, eats well and doesn’t bark – he is a lovely lad.
“I wouldn’t be without him now. I would never have expected to go over there and come back with a dog but I wouldn’t change anything and I wouldn’t be without him now.”
Buddy had very red paws and some marks on his legs either from a fungal infection or insect bites, but thanks to treatment and a bit of food by vets in Washington, was soon back to his energetic self.
PC Harvey added: “It surprised me how close a bond we have already – he seems really happy and I hope he realises he has got a better life than he did on the streets.”
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