A DOG who was attacked with a machete in Sri Lanka and rescued by a Warwickshire couple has been nominated for a Brave Briton award.
Sinhalese Hound Kandy was attacked by her former owner and dumped on the beach when they no longer wanted her.
While she was taken in and treated by a local dog rescuer, multiple calls to rehome her went unanswered and she faced an uncertain future.
But Observer deputy editor Laura Kearns – who has twice visited Sri Lanka in recent years – contacted the rescuer, who she met while last in the South Asian country, and said as a last resort she would find a way to take the dog.
She and partner James Pedley raised the some £2,000 needed through a fund-raising page and held a fun day, while also using their savings to rescue Kandy – who is named after the Sri Lankan city where she was fostered.
And in January Laura, along with friend Sophie Williams and sister Rebecca Kearns drove ten hours to Frankfurt to collect the one-year-old dog from the airport.
Laura, age 31, said: “We were told Kandy was too friendly and would not survive on the streets, and knowing her now that is definitely true.
“Rescuing her is the best thing we have ever done. She is an amazing little girl and so loving and trusting despite her ordeal.”
Kandy was among 50 animals to be nominated in the Amplifon Awards for Brave Britons in the Hero Pet category.
She is now one of ten in the selection stage of the process where a panel of judges chaired by Falklands War hero Simon Weston will choose four finalists, with the winner announced in October.
Laura said: “To know someone has even taken the time to nominate Kandy is wonderful. She is definitely a hero to us.
“She has been through so much and despite it all she still loves people and lives life to the fullest.
“On top of her attack, when we brought her back to the UK she was diagnosed with Babesia, a very serious tropical illness which took a month to treat with some nasty medication. She even took that in her stride, she’s truly an inspirational little doggy.”
