The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Family set for reunion with injured Bobo
Afamily who helped rescue an injured dog in Turkey are getting ready to bring him home to Dundee. Bobo the German shepherd cross will start a new life next week after his chance meeting with the family last year.
The canine hobbled into the Ballumbie family’s lives last September, at a resort in the city of Antalya.
He had an injury to one of his back legs and his fur was severely matted.
Mother-of-two Lianne Hutchison said it was “heartbreaking” to see the injured dog’s poor condition when he passed while they were waiting to be seated for a meal.
She knew she had to help and sought a vet to treat Bobo. Now, Bobo will fly back to the UK next week to live with Lianne, her two children and partner.
Lianne said: “He walked right into the hotel from the beach on our last night, it looked like he only had three legs because his hind leg was tucked in.
“Me and my two kids, Christopher and Reuben, ran towards him. I sat with him for four hours until the vet arrived and cut all the matted bits out of his hair.”
Lianne, who has her own doggy day care business, wanted to do as much as they could to ensure the animal was given the best possible care.
She added: “The reality was that Bobo could have essentially just been released back on to the beach once the vet had given him treatment.
“The rescue centres there are so jam packed because of lockdown and the kindest thing they said was to put him back on the beach. I couldn’t have that, but I didn’t know the first thing about bringing a dog into the country.”
As the couple looked at ways of getting Bobo home, friends and family suggested they start a crowdfunding page to help support some of the ongoing costs.
She added: “We started a fundraiser around five months ago, calculating the costs of him staying at a dog hotel, putting him into quarantine before a flight.
“We raised £1,000 in the first 48 hours, it was amazing.”
“We have now set a new target of £2,100 and people have already been really generous in helping out.”
Lianne said Bobo will arrive in Dundee by the end of next week.
“We can’t wait to see him,” she said.
“It will be an emotional reunion and because of the crowdfunding and the back story people can’t wait to meet him as well.”