Bring Back Dobby!

This is our beloved family pet Dobby.  Well, i should say...this was Dobby.

We first met Dobby on a remote mountain road 3 years ago in Sri Lanka when she stumbled out in-front of our car. Her timing was perfection; seconds later and we wouldn't have noticed her. At first sight Dobby was clearly very ill.

The choices were few, bring her with us or leave her alone for nature to decide. The decision was instinctive. We emptied our children's toy box from the car and put her inside. She didn't resist - she seemed to understand the situation as clearly as we did.


We arrived in Kandy after the difficult 3 hour drive and immediately took her to a vet; where she adopted her first incarnation as 'Twenty Percent'. *The vet said she had a 20% chance of survival; the name seemed apt. Looking at her condition the odds seemed generous. She had been abandoned, surviving on insects and rain water, was covered in mange, fleas and feces, her eyes were badly infected, she was starved and her bones were visibly malnourished.

We took her home and did the best we could to care for her. For as much time as 20% would give her.


We had no experience of dealing with such a sick doggy as Dobby.

We noticed that she struck an uncanny resemblance to Dobby from the Harry Potter films; hence Dobby was born....


With her new image, very slowly, and with constant & careful attention ....Dobby began to show signs of improvement. 


Dobby gave up the insects she instinctively depended on for survival and began to adopt the traditional Sri Lankan street dog menu of rice and curry.....


She showed the faintest signs of being a real puppy and not a wingless fruit-bat as once suspected.


The bones that caused her to limp and stumble straightened. She was fighting....


She started to look like a real puppy.


....and continued to grow.


Into the Dob we know and love today.


Now Dobby has another crisis. For the past 6 years we have dedicated our lives as a family to building a children's Charity in Sri Lanka called The T.E.A. Project (theteaproject.org)

Like thousands of grass roots NGO's the Corona Virus Pandemic has hit severely and presented us with a stark reality; we can't afford to stay any longer. We needed to take the incredibly difficult decision to leave our home and return to the UK. This presented us with numerous challenges. One of the biggest was Dobby. We simply can't afford to bring her with us without support. To make the journey Dobby needs:

1.  01 ISO standard Pet Microchip (inc. delivery to Kandy)

2. 01 Rabies antibody titre testing 

3. 01 IATA compliant travel crate (inc. delivery to Kandy)

4. Complete documentation & professional assistance

5. Air freight charges, customs formalities, transit charges & forwarding charges - London Heathrow airport

6. Airport transport from Metro Colombo, on the day of export

7. Customs & veterinary Clearance at London Heathrow airport 

8. Kennel charges in Sri Lanka before departure.

Again the choices were few. If we can't raise the support needed to bring her to the UK then Dobby will have to stay in Sri Lanka and be re-homed. This will simply break our hearts.


We recognise the cost to re-repatriate Dobby is a significant challenge and not a priority compared to so many who are currently suffering. But if after reading Dobby's fight for survival you feel that you want to help her fight another day then it would be extremely valuable. To Dobby and to our whole family.

Over the years we have seen so many selfless acts of kindness help so many vulnerable children we work to support. 

We are hoping that there is a little of this magic left to 'Bring Back Dobby' and help us to reach this seemingly impossible target. Thank you for taking the time to read her story.