Help Us Get Home

Hi, my name is Lesley. I'm an ex-pat stuck on the island of Cyprus due to Covid the only travel off of the island is by Air. Trying to plan a flight during a pandemic with seven, yes, seven dogs and a daughter is a complete nightmare.

Let me tell you my story.

In July 2016, I rented out my house in Milton Keynes and moved with my fiance  over to Cyprus for a better life.  My eldest daughter joined us in 2019.

Since I moved to Cyprus, I have been helping with animal rescue and have saved over 200 stray and abused dogs and managed to rehome them throughout Europe.

As well as volunteering, working long hours helping various shelters. 

Being an ex-pat, I have had dogs dumped on my doorstep. I have fallen foul of a corrupt Cypriot who has stolen and swindled money from me in the name of rescue by asking me to assist in funding a rescue shelter that was struggling, only to discover £7,500 later that she had been keeping the money for herself instead of using it for the dogs. At the same time my fiance was diagnosed with Cancer, I had just taken over the failing rescue with my daughter, we worked tirelessly for 13 hours a day, 7 days a week to get 72 dogs fit healthy and rehomed. It took six months, but we did it. 

I was robbed blind by my local garages fixing my car when it broke, they bodged  with used parts instead of new ones, and charge full price.

In late January 2020 my fiance was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer and we decided he would be better off returning to the UK for his medical treatment. I said goodbye to him at the airport on my birthday in feb 2020, He passed in November 2020 after a short, harsh battle, I hadn't seen him for 9 months.  Due to COVID Travel restrictions, I could not be with him, I couldn't even attend his funeral. He was our breadwinner, the love of my life and my rock. 

With my father's (93)  frail condition and repeatedly falling, my mothers (83) advanced dementia,resulting in them both being put into a council care home, and my fiance passing, I decided enough was enough and want to return to the UK. 

To return to the UK with my dogs, I will need to fly.  The cost of flights for two adults and seven dogs from Cyprus to the UK is £4,500.   On my return, I will also need to have somewhere to live. 

TO do this, I need to sell my property in the UK and served a Section 21  (Six Months notice) to my tenant to enable me to sell the property to finance my return to the UK.  In mid April, my house was sold, subject contract and vacant possession. Requiring my tenant to move out on the agreed date. She did not do so. 

I now have to evict the tenant through the court's process, and once that is complete, I will be able to remarket the house and hope to sell it. Of course, this all takes money, and as I sit here in Cyprus with all assets and money I have tied up in the house, the tenant refuses to leave. I cannot afford to travel back to the UK. I also have the problem that with seven dogs, I cannot get a rental property.

British High comission will not help me unless I leave my dogs behind. I will not do this, my dogs are family, my babies. 

My last avenue of hope was to sell my house, buy a cheaper one and use the equity to get home. I have explored equity purchase schemes,and house buying schemes but these schemes all want at least £45,000 of the house value for fees with a sitting tenant. Being mugged in the street would be cheaper.

So my plea is to raise £5,500 to help transport my daughter, myself and my animals back to the UK  so I can pick up the pieces of my life and start again. 

I have to be close to my parents before age and ill health takes them away from me. I will never recover if I never see them again. 

Life has been very tough this last 2 years and I need to go home.

Please help us if you can.