Stray dog rescued from carnage of Hurricane Irma is brought to UK by police officer
A BRITISH police officer has rescued a stray dog he met while helping a Caribbean island recover from the devastation of Hurricane Irma.
Pc Jonathan Harvey found labrador cross Buddy after flying to the British Virgin Island of Tortola three days after the powerful hurricane hit. He was among 53 police officers who were picked to fly to the British Overseas Territory to assist in keeping law and order on the island.
The Suffolk Pc explained how Buddy’s affectionate nature convinced him to bring the dog back to the UK to start a new life. He brought Buddy to a vet and found out he not been microchipped and decided to take him home after they struck up a close bond. “He put his paws around my thigh and buried his head in my stomach and didn’t want to let go, bless him,” Mr Harvey told the BBC.
“I went and made a fuss of him, gave him some food, gave him some water, calmed him down a bit and spent some time with him and then decided I’d like to bring him back. We’ve gone out there to try and help people and help the island, which I think we’ve managed to do. And it’s just nice to be able to do something more for him as well and give him a better chance of a decent life.”
Buddy must spend 21 days in quarantine before he can be flown to the UK to be reunited with Pc Harvey. A total of 1,300 UK troops were deployed to the region after powerful hurricanes Irma and Maria pummelled the Caribbean in September.
The response included a 42-strong military resilience team being deployed to the British Virgin Islands to assist with relief efforts. Hurricane Maria’s 155mph winds wreaked havoc on the island of Dominica and also left Puerto Rico entirely without power.