A MONGREL captured the heartstrings of local vet Martin Read so much on a visit to Northern Cyprus, he is bringing her home.

Martin, the practice manager at Drove Vets in Croft Road, has arranged to have Fifi transported to the UK so she can escape her tough life.

He has been visiting Northern Cyprus for the past six years and said he always finds it difficult to see so many ownerless dogs there.

“It is always sad to see the number of abandoned and stray dogs wandering aimlessly,” he said.

“Where we stay, it is quiet and populated by small farm holdings where a lot of dogs are kept tied up by individuals and left for periods of time without sufficient food or turned loose to fend for themselves.

“Although this appears somewhat cruel to us, this is the reality of a normal life for a larger percentage of the dogs in this area of the island.

“On my most recent trip, a little mongrel living close by befriended me and stole a portion of my heart.

“I felt empowered to feed her twice a day while I was there, knowing in the back of my mind that when I left she would be looking for me. But I struggled with the concept of this further abandonment.”

Martin enquired at the Kyrenia Animal Rescue Centre, 20 miles from where he was staying, about how he could bring Fifi to the UK now the quarantine rules have been relaxed.

He said: “I took the decision that this dog needed a better life and, as I have expat friends living out there, I managed to get a lady to foster her so the process could begin.”

Fifi has been wormed, micro-chipped and spayed, and will soon have her first rabies jab. It will take three months before the process and certification are complete.

Martin said: “My plan is to either recover her on the same flight as me or allow her to come back overland, a journey of about seven to 12 days dependent on weather.

“I am investigating the implications of the different scenarios with the animal rescue centre.

“I have time to consider the options of how the final happy chapter can be written.”