A GREATHAM couple raising money in an effort to be reunited with a dog they rescued while on a recent holiday have nearly reached their total but need help with the final push.

Sarah Hartwright explained that she and her partner Rob Knowles visited the Caribbean island of St Maarten in the middle of December, where she expected “beautiful beaches and sunny climates” but did not expect “the heartache of meeting Coco”. “When we were there we found a four-month-old puppy who was 48 hours from death,” she said.

“We cared for her, took her to the vet to get treated, removed more than 300 ticks from her body and spent most of our holiday trying to help her.

“Because she is a stray and the value of animals in St Maarten is the polar opposite to in the UK, since returning home we have been trying to raise the money to fly her back to the UK to live a happy and secure life in Greatham with us.”

To bring Coco over to this country, the couple are trying to raise £1,000 via a GoFundMe campaign and urged anyone who could spare any money to help their fundraising effort. The vet has agreed to look after Coco until she can be flown to the UK.

“Coco has put on weight and, although will never grow to full size, now has a clean bill of health, has had all her vaccinations and been cleared to come to the UK if we can raise the funds for her flight and customs charges,” Sarah added.

The couple have recently passed the halfway mark - to help them reach their target, please visit www.gofundme.

com/rescuecoco.

Rob Knowles and Sarah Hartman are pictured with Mylo and Rufus and photographs of Coco the puppy before and after the couple rescued her during their holiday in the Caribbean. Picture order no: BD06-08-16.