If we have to talk about survival stories, the testimony of Australian sailor Timothy Lyndsay Shaddock is worth reporting, thanking and admiring: he was adrift for three months in a damaged boat in the middle of nowhere and at the same time the immensity of the Pacific.

His dog “Bella” stayed with him all this time. You could not have a better name in the face of such fidelity as that of this specimen in those endless days and nights when the castaway “Tim” thought they would not survive.

He is 54 years old and has a great adventurous spirit, forged between waves, sun and moon.

Shaddock revealed that he had a brush with death in the past, claiming in a 2013 blog post that he went on a “completely raw” diet to get rid of stage four colon cancer.

The sailor and his pet “Bella” set sail on the catamaran “Aloha Toa” from the Mexican city of La Paz, in Baja California Sur, bound for French Polynesia.

Antena 3 review that “a severe storm caused damage to the boat and its electronic equipment, preventing the Australian from communicating to ask for help or continue his journey of approximately 6,000 miles.”

Miraculously, he and the dog were rescued by the crew of a tuna boat. The images are really great.

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Survival of the sailor and his dog

Tim drifts in the eastern Pacific and notes that he has been through an “trial”.

They survived, he says, eating raw fish and drinking rainwater.

“It was a lot of chewing on ‘sushi'”, jokes Tim. According to the Daily Mail, the Australian was “well supplied, but the storm also destroyed his ability to cook”.

To protect himself from the intensity of the sun’s rays, he raised an awning, under which he avoided dehydration and tried not to burn his skin again.

Bella was hungry, but she persevered. She, a mixed breed dog, gave Tim the emotional support he needed to not give up, to keep fighting for their lives.

During this time, the Australian’s beard and hair grew, his body lost kilograms and muscle mass. But these three months have made him strong, on a level he finds hard to believe.

I live. We were so hungry, I didn’t think we would make it

Tim

Of “Bella,” the dog who — according to El Universal — tried to give up for adoption three times but kept coming back to look for him, he says, “I’m thankful she survived.”

Skill is important, but companionship was key in this case. So thinks Australian university professor Mike Tipton, who is an expert in ocean survival.

The chance that someone will be found is quite small.

Mike Tipton, teacher

He believes that the dog’s company was very helpful for Tim to survive, as having someone, even a pet, in the same place helps to maintain a positive mindset, Enfoque Informativo published.

And the rescue of the sailor and his dog arrived, the miracle happened

During this past weekend, Infobae review, Tim Shaddock’s damaged catamaran was spotted on the high seas by a helicopter accompanying a Grupomar Corporation tuna boat.

According to the report, Tim and Bella were more than 1,000 miles from the nearest port.

After the sighting, a boat came to the rescue. Impossible not to be moved by the Australian’s reaction: he raised his arms as those ‘angels’ sent by Providence approached; only to later put her hands on her chest and burst into tears.

Next to him, Bella… wagged her tail in front of the tuna company employees.

Tim’s words of thanks and the support he received touched everyone.

Tim and Bella were taken to the boat “María Delia” where fortunately a doctor was present and found them both with stable levels.

News of this wonderful rescue broke on Monday, July 17. The next day, already on Mexican land and firm, he declared, “I thought I wouldn’t survive, so thank you very much.”

Pets as emotional support

What happens to Bella?

This story is full of various emotional nuances. The owner of “Tuny” tuna, Antonio Suárez, reported that the Mexican boat that rescued the Australian on the high seas was on its last voyage as it is “on the verge of retirement”.

Therefore, EFE published, he stated that he could not be more pleased with his crew than that this boat was the one to bring the good news.

The crew members will receive special recognition, he said.

It makes sense that this man from the sea, Tim, wants to go to Australia to see and hug his family.

But, what happens to the pet Bella? “She’s Mexican, she’s from here,” says the excited sailor.

Tuny tuna workers, Grupomar workers and even journalists have taken pictures with the mascot.

The EFE office indicates that he and Bella are continuing the corresponding immigration procedures with the Mexican authorities to return to Australia.

Bella is braver than me

Tim Shaddock

“I passed a very difficult test at sea,” Tim Shaddock said in a video broadcast by Australia’s Nine News, AFP reports.

Asked about the message this impressive experience leaves him, the Australian, with the sound and color of the sea planted in his head, shares: “I love the sea, its people, the sailors, fishermen… they are all here to help each other. It is the people of the sea who unite us all. The ocean is within us. We are the ocean.”