Stranded Aussie sailor breaks silence on why he left his dog behind

2023-07-20

Stranded Australian sailor Tim Shaddock breaks silence on why he left his dog Bella behind

Australian sailor found lost off Mexican coast abandons his dog
Tim Shaddock leaves pooch Bella in Mexico as he jetted home
Australia’s tough animal import laws prevented her coming too

An Aussie castaway saved from certain death was interrupted as he tried to explain why he was forced to give up his canine sailing companion after the two were miraculously found adrift nearly 2,000km from land.

Timothy Lyndsay Shaddock, 54, was being interviewed on the Today Show on Thursday morning when he was asked why he decided to leave his dog Bella in the care of a crew member of the Marie Delia, the tuna trawler that rescued them.

‘Yeah, well, look, I… Bella ended up coming with me, but I had these crazy visions of it was just the chopper here to get me…’ Mr Shaddock started to explain.

But his unclear explanation was cut short as the program went to a press conference with New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins about the Auckland shooting.

Mr Shaddock and Bella had spent three months together drifting across the Pacific, eating raw fish and drinking rainwater before being returned to the Mexican city of Manzanillo.

But on reaching land, it’s believed their union came to an end due to Australia’s notorious animal importation regulations.

People can only bring animals into Australia that are arriving from approved countries, which Mexico is not, and also once they are medically fit to arrive.

Timothy Lyndsay Shaddock, 54, has revealed that he left his dog Bella in the care of a crewmember of the Marie Delia, a tuna trawler that rescued them

The two had spent three months together adrift on the Pacific, eating raw fish and drinking rainwater before being rescued by the Marie Delia, a tuna trawler

Upon reaching land however, their union came to an end due to Australia’s notorious animal importation regulations which are some of the toughest in the world

Australia has some of the toughest animal import laws in the world, and the process involves several hurdles which aren’t cheap.

If Mr Shaddock had chosen to defy the odds again and attempted to bring Bella home, she would have likely had to temporarily stay in an approved country before coming down under.

Along with the costs of finding someone to care for her in a temporary location, Bella would have then been required to get vaccines, be microchipped, and undergo quarantine.

Instead, Bella will live out the rest of her days alongside Genaro Rosales, a member of the Marie Delia who took an instant liking to Bella, according to Mr Shaddock.

Mr Rosales promised Mr Shaddock that he would take care of Bella and keep her well looked after.

Bella will live out the rest of her days alongside Genaro Rosales, a member of the Marie Delia who took an instant liking to Bella, according to Mr Shaddock

Mr Shaddock and Bella returned to land after being examined on board the boat that rescued him and said that he is grateful to be alive.

‘I’m feeling alright. I’m feeling a lot better than I was, I tell ya,’ Shaddock, smiling, bearded and thin, told reporters on the dock in the port city about 337 kilometres west of Mexico City.

‘To the captain and fishing company that saved my life, I’m just so grateful. I’m alive and I didn’t really think I’d make it,’ Shaddock said, adding that he and his ‘amazing’ dog Bella are both doing well.

Shaddock described himself as a quiet person who loves being alone on the ocean. Asked why he set out in April from Mexico’s Baja Peninsula to cross the Pacific Ocean to French Polynesia, he was initially at a loss.

‘I’m not sure I have the answer to that, but I very much enjoy sailing and I love the people of the sea,’ he said. ‘It’s the people of the sea that make us all come together. The ocean is in us. We are the ocean.’

The Sydney man’s catamaran set sail from the Mexican city of La Paz but was crippled by bad weather weeks into the journey. He said the last time he saw land was in early May as he sailed out of the Sea of Cortez and into the Pacific. There was a full moon.

Shaddock said he had been well-provisioned, but a storm knocked out his electronics and ability to cook. He and Bella survived on raw fish.

‘There were many, many, many bad days and many good days,’ he said.

‘The energy, the fatigue is the hardest part,’ he said. He passed the time fixing things and stayed positive by going into the water to ‘just enjoy being in the water.’

When the tuna boat’s helicopter spotted Shaddock’s catamaran about 1,930 kilometres from land, it was the first sign of humans he had seen in three months, Shaddock said. The pilot tossed him a drink and then flew away, returning later with a speed boat from the María Delia, he said.

Grupomar, which operates the fishing fleet, didn’t specify when the rescue occurred. But it said in a statement that Shaddock and his dog were in a ‘precarious’ state when found, lacking provisions and shelter, and that the tuna boat’s crew gave them medical attention, food and hydration.

Shaddock said the tuna boat became his land and that Bella was an immediate hit with the crew. He also explained how he and the dog met.

Mr Shaddock’s catamaran (pictured) set sail from the Mexican city of La Paz but was crippled by bad weather weeks into the journey

It said the pair were lacking provisions and shelter and the tuna boat’s crew gave them medical attention, food and hydration (pictured, Mr Shaddock and Bella on the tuna ship)

‘Bella sort of found me in the middle of Mexico. She’s Mexican,’ he said. ‘She’s the spirit of the middle of the country and she wouldn’t let me go. I tried to find a home for her three times and she just kept following me onto the water. She’s a lot braver than I am, that’s for sure.’

In touching scenes, Bella did not leave the boat until Shaddock had driven away.

He had already chosen Genaro Rosales, a crew member from Mazatlan, to adopt her on the condition that he would take good care of the dog.

Shaddock said he’ll be returning to Australia soon and that he’s looking forward to seeing his family.

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