British backpacker saves stray dog in Peru by raising £18k while travelling South America

Mirelle was travelling through South America with her cousin when a stray dog took a liking to her

A British backpacker raised £18k to bring a stray dog back from Peru after it stayed outside her cabin all night and refused to leave her side.

Mirelle Radley, 29, was travelling through South America with her cousin, Adam Radley, 40, in April when they stopped at a village called Ollantaytambo.

While Mirelle was laying in a hammock reading, she felt something nip her and noticed a stray mutt, which they believe to a Shepherd-mix, vying for her attention.

She instantly fell in love with the pooch, who followed her around for the rest of her trip, and she affectionately named him Paddington after the fictional bear from the same country.

Mirelle couldn't bear to leave Paddington behind so she made the decision to bring him back to the UK and began raising the funds required.

When Mirelle had to return home, she arranged temporary accommodation for Paddington while he had the necessary vet checks including blood tests and vaccinations, but he is due to be flown over to the UK in August.

Mirelle, a research scientist, from Cambridge, said: "I was just sitting in my hammock and this dog just appeared from nowhere. I was reading and then all of a sudden something was biting on my arm.

"I turned to look and my cousin was like 'you've got a friend here'. He [Paddington] wouldn't leave me alone. He would constantly follow us into town to the shop. I couldn't leave him there.

"I'm very excited to have him - having this countdown is hard as I'm not a very patient person."

Described as "skinny, matted and looking lost", Paddington was "begging street vendors for food" before latching onto Mirelle.

She said: "He followed us round everywhere, we tried to leave without him noticing. He followed us all the way down to the village half a mile down the hill."

Despite losing him in the crowds, Paddington soon found his way back to the duo, who admitted that they initially stopped short of feeding him, believing the dog had a home to return to.

Mirelle said: "Obviously, we were leaving and I didn't want him to think that we were going to be feeding him now."

But when she woke up the next morning, Paddington was still sitting outside her cabin. With her time in the country running out, Mirelle made the decision to begin the process of moving Paddington to the UK.

She launched a GoFundMe appeal to raise the money that would make the journey possible and credits strangers on TikTok with helping her raise £18k to fly Paddington to his new home.

She said: "People seem to have been really moved and it's really very kind of everybody to want to take time out of their day and money out of their pocket to donate to help that little dog get home, and also other dogs get homes.

"If I can leave that fundraiser open and people happen to see it because they've seen my one video and then they can donate money that will help more than just my one dog, that's a win for me."

Helped by Colitas Con Canas, a local sanctuary for dogs, Mirelle managed to find a temporary home for Paddington in order for him to undergo a series of blood tests, vaccinations and a quarantine before leaving Peru.

Mirelle now expects to be reunited with Paddington in the UK in August and she said: "It's not the same as seeing videos of him - I just want to have him here.

"His crate is arriving to where he is this week, and they are going to start getting him used to being in there for the flights. He'll be getting two flights - Cusco to Lima and then Lima to Amsterdam and then I'll go and get him on the ferry.

"It doesn't really feel real, especially since I don't have the dog yet. It all just feels very surreal."

Paddington isn't the first stray Mirelle, a former veterinary science student, has brought home.

She said: "In my job at the vet school, I used to come home with lots of pigeons. I've had a few baby birds and things like that.

"Anything that decidedly looks like it needs help, I'll be like 'oh, dad, I've just got a house martin that I'm just going to keep in my room until it can fly again'."