She was panting with thirst under Greek sun

Trekking through the Cretan countryside, Maureen Webb heard a small bark coming from a bush.

There, she and her husband gavin, 61, discovered a tiny, emaciated puppy. in temperatures of at least 35c, the animal was panting with thirst. Moved by its plight, Maureen gave it some water.

And so began a love affair that saw the puppy, a type of greek hunting dog later named Lucy, being rescued and brought back to Selby, north Yorkshire.

Maureen, 65, who runs a saddlery business, says: ‘The puppy was just cowering there. Her tail had been pulled off and she was just skin and bones.’

She and gavin, a tank installation manager, who have two children, managed to lure the weeks-old puppy out and scoop her up, before walking the ten miles back to their hotel near the village of koxare.

knowing they would be unable to take the animal back to their villa, they contacted a local animal shelter where a vet said she was so starved, she probably wouldn’t have survived another day.

‘ We left her at the shelter (pictured above), but we just couldn’t stop thinking about her.’

The next day, they discovered it would cost £350 to get Lucy to the Uk, a fee that covered vaccinations, worming, rabies jabs and microchipping.

After a month at the shelter to get her strength up, Lucy was flown to Paris and then driven to Maidstone, kent, in november 2017, where the Webbs picked her up.

‘When we collected her, she was terrified,’ says Maureen ( below, with Lucy), who adds that she has since settled in well. ‘now, when i walk through the fields, she’s always nipping at my wellies and running around. She is so happy.’