Sailor in emotional goodbye after floating three months lost at sea with a stray dog

A sailor who survived on raw fish and rainwater while spending three months adrift with his dog in the Pacific Ocean has rehomed his faithful pet after being rescued.

Tim Shaddock, 54, was discovered alive earlier this week aboard his catamaran, which had been missing for more than 90 days.

His “incredible” dog Bella had survived alongside him, and Shaddock decided to leave her in Mexico after a member of the rescue boat crew promised to give her a happy and loving home.

“Bella found me in the middle of Mexico. She’s Mexican,” he explained. “She’s the spirit of the middle of the country and she wouldn’t let me go. I tried to find her a home three times and she kept following me to the water. She’s much braver than me, that’s for sure.” .”

In adorable pictures, Bella could be seen waiting patiently on the boat as Shaddock made his way to the airport to join his family in Sydney.

During his first interview, the Australian said that the last time he saw land was in early May when he left the Sea of ​​Cortez with the aim of reaching French Polynesia.

However, the boat was lost after a storm destroyed the electronics, preventing him from calling for help. He managed to survive by collecting rainwater and eating raw fish before they were discovered by helicopter and rescued by a tuna fishing boat and taken to the Mexican city of Manzanillo.

In a statement, the Grupomar fishing fleet said it had seen Shaddock’s boat some 1,200 miles offshore.

After seeing a doctor, the bearded, thin Shaddock said, “I feel fine. I feel a lot better than I was, I tell you.”

“I didn’t think I would make it… there were a lot of bad days and a lot of good days. I lost my cooking skills along the way, so it was a lot of tuna sushi… I’m still really skinny.”

“I am very grateful to the captain and the fishing company who saved my life. I’m alive and I really didn’t think I would make it,” he added.