Tiggy to the rescue: a 3.5k mile epic journey for our dog...

Hi folks, as promised back in June when we sadly had to cancel our attendance to the Kombi Sleepover, this is the story of Red, our rescue dog from the South of Italy (and reason of the cancellation )

Red was first abandoned, found and looked after by some farmers (next door to a country family house of ours) and then poisoned by neighbours. Luckily we were around at the time of poisoning and we managed to save his life, as he came to us while dying from ingesting a heavy dosage of snail pellets (metaldehyde). A sad story with an happy ending...

Here are some pics of the epic rescue journey from Brighton to Pescara (Abruzzi region/South of Italy) and back to Brighton, 3,500 miles later... including an amazing wild camping break on the way back at Campo Imperatore straight after Red's collection. Campo Imperatore is one of the wildest areas in the whole of Italy, a plateau sitting at around 1700mt on the sea level going up to 2000 by the Gran Sasso mountain chain. Think spaghetti western set.. or wild west!

It was pure wild camping, a real adventure where our Tiggy excelled in all means, including the several off-road excursions (and that's why is not lowered!) in grass, pebble and sand: ok, we got stuck once here but come out thanks to our very useful JK grip mats!

Hope you'll enjoy the pics!

Great pictures and a heart warming story. Well done for the epic trip and for rescuing Red.

Looking forward to maybe meeting Red at next year's sleepover.

Thanks guys, glad u enjoyed it

Absinthe wrote:

Looking forward to maybe meeting Red at next year's sleepover.

I hope even before then!

not sure why but the photos seem to be shown as 'files to download' unlike any other post??

tiggy23 wrote:

not sure why but the photos seem to be shown as 'files to download' unlike any other post??

You've loaded them as attachments rather than hosting them.

Hey Tim, sorry but I'm not used to it! I've deleted them all now, so I can re-publish them hosted

Cool.

What a fantastic trip to take your BraziBay on. Good for you.

Probably worth changing the air filter now after all that Wild West dust!

TimV wrote:

Cool.

What a fantastic trip to take your BraziBay on. Good for you.

Probably worth changing the air filter now after all that Wild West dust!

You are sooooo right!!!!

When we got stuck in that grey sand it was nasty, the rear wheels were half dipped in and even with the grip mats I struggled.. That fine dust went absolutely everywhere!

We have been blown away by the huGE success of Tiggy abroad... people are not as used as in UK to see bays on the road and they truly spook out! From old people to young kids, it was amazing how many smiles and thumbs up we've managed to collect. And when camping, with our bays you can really go wild... seventies Easy Rider style

Looks like a great adventure. That's some amazing landscapes you've visited

FAB pics and a great story

Wow! Amazing photos and a lovely, lovely story.


Tracey

Thank you all for such lovely comments, glad you liked our story and landscapes...

We love wildlife and wild camping and Red seem to be real comfortable in our life!

The place where the pictures were taken (Campo Imperatore) is such a wild and deserted area, tucked away from civilization (hard to find in a crowded Italy) and also mystic in a way. There are no shops or resorts, just a run down hotel with a bar and some chair lifts. The plateau is surrounded by a mountain chain connected to other national parks. 75% of Abruzzi region is national park hosting wild wolves and wild bears, among the few left in Europe, not that we've seen them.. but we were very aware especially at dinner and night time! For the three of us was true bonding time, in a natural way.

Now Red is settling in Brighton and doing very well. From running free on the mountains to longboarding (skating) on a leash by the sea, what a change he had! But he loves it, he's already shown his loyalty to us, his gratitude to us for having saved his life and taking care of him...

Err ... but I hope you've cleaned your Kombi after it served you so well!?!

Very nice

Great story, I'm sure Red will repay you in abundance.

TimV wrote:

Err ... but I hope you've cleaned your Kombi after it served you so well!?!

Oh yes... that was a whole weekend, the first one back in UK, lots of tlc...