Marlin is a dog that the 22-year-old Amelia Clayton rescued from the dog meat trade in Vietnam. And while it’s not every day that a rescue dog gets lost again, just after being rescued, that’s exactly what happened to Amelia and Marlin.
Amelia spent nine horrible days searching for Marlin after she got lost at the terminal at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris on 26 March.
The distressed pup was tracked down with the help of volunteers enlisted from Facebook, and was eventually found in a wooden area nearby the airport.
As the due eventually returned to the UK, Amelia said everyone was crying.
She said for BBC while still in Paris: “When she realized it was me… she just fell on her back. I picked her up. I was crying my eyes out.
“Then all the volunteers helping the whole nine days came and saw her. God, it was emotional. Everyone got so attached to this story and trying to find her.”
‘Heart-sinking feeling’
Amelia had been working for an animal charity in Hoi An, Vietnam. That’s when she found Marlin and immediately bonded with her.
“She was chained to a wall for nearly her entire life and pretty much the only contact she ever knew from birth was being hit… She was terrified of people.”
The duo left Vietnam at the end of March, with the help of crowdfunders who funded the veterinary and rescue costs.
“When we got to Paris after a 16-hour journey. I thought we did it… eight months of planning, making sure everything was perfect. I was so excited.”
Yet, while they were in Paris, Marlin needed to be left by Amelia with some of her helpers “for literally two minutes” and the dog got lost.
Amelia said that she had a “heart sinking feeling” when she returned and saw what had happened.
“I couldn’t believe it. I was running around the airport crying and screaming her name.
“I spent about nine hours looking for her that night and basically didn’t stop after that.”
Still, after 9 horrific days, Marlin was found in a wooden area next to the terminal.
Amelia said: “I called her for a bit but I didn’t see her. I thought she’d gone again.
“After 10 minutes I saw her head… my heart stopped. I called her name and she just stared at me for ages. Gradually she came closer and closer.”0
While Marlin was exhausted, stressed out and slightly bruised, she is all right.
Amelia couldn’t extend enough thanks to the “amazing” volunteers who helped with the search and rescued the dog for a second time.
After all, it’s not every day that a just rescued dog gets lost and rescued once again.
