Puppy love! Islander fundraising to bring abandoned puppies home

Tuesday 02 August 2022

A travelling islander is hoping to fundraise £4,000 to bring two puppies she found abandoned in Bali back home to Jersey.

Charlotte Le Gresley (26) was travelling around Bali with her best friend, Kieran Brown, when the pair found a box of abandoned puppies in Ubud.

After trying and failing to rehome the puppies, Charlotte took them along on the rest of the travels and is now trying to raise the funds to bring them home to Jersey to live with her for good.

Pictured: Lola (left) and her sister, Lexi, were found abandoned in a box on the side of a road.

Charlotte and Kieran had already travelled around various other parts of Bali before they arrived in Ubud, with plans to stay for five nights alongside some other friends they had made whilst travelling.

Charlotte described the amount of stray dogs in the town as “crazy”, and she even befriended one who would walk her group home at night. 

It was this stray dog who led Charlotte and her friends to a box of three puppies at the side of the road.

Charlotte admitted: “If it wasn’t for the other dog that we were with, I think we would have walked straight past the puppies so I’m very thankful for him being there with us.”

The next day, Charlotte and Kieran went back to check on the puppies and found there were only two puppies remaining in the box. 

Charlotte said: “It was sad to see one missing and it was at that time that I made the decision to take them as they were so tiny and hungry.

“They were terrified and didn't seem to have had a great deal of contact with humans. If they had, it didn't seem like they had good experiences. 

 “If they were older and able to look after themselves then I wouldn’t have intervened, but they were so frightened and skinny that it was upsetting.”

Pictured: Charlotte eventually managed to gain the trust of the nervous puppies.

Charlotte hid the two puppies in her bag and snuck them back into the hostel where she was staying.

She said: “The first night was just about getting them some food and reassuring them that we weren’t going to hurt them. It took a few hours for them to relax properly to the point they were happily sleeping on us.

“After that they slept in the bed every night without fail!”

The next morning, Charlotte and her friends tried to find an animal shelter to look after the puppies, however they were constantly turned away due to many shelters being completely overrun with stray animals.

Whilst waiting for more information, Charlotte took the puppies to the nearest vet. There, she found out that they were both females aged about six weeks old. 

Charlotte said: “They ended up having their first vaccination, wormer and flea and tick medication. They also had a check-up to make sure they were ok, which they were after a few days of some proper food and sleep. 

“I then bought them food, collars and leads from the vets and got their health passports.”

Pictured: The puppies received all of the necessary health checks from a local vet.

Charlotte and the puppies then returned to the hostel, where they had a message waiting for them from a rescue shelter which said that they had space for the puppies and could collect them in a few days.

The puppies spent the next few days playing with Charlotte and her friends. They named the bigger short-haired puppy Lola and the smaller one was christened Lexi.

Charlotte said: “The day came to hand them over and I can honestly say my heart felt like it got ripped out my chest. The men who collected them were very nice, but it didn’t make it any easier! 

“They put the puppies in a crate in the back of the van, but Lexi manged to climb through the gate and ran back to us! At this point we were all crying and heartbroken to say goodbye.”

The staff at the rescue shelter were happy for Charlotte and her friends to come and visit Lola and Lexi, so they took some food and toys to the shelter a few days later.

However, once they returned back to the hostel after this visit, Charlotte had an “intense feeling” that she didn’t want to carry on her travels without the two puppies.

She explained: “I messaged the lady at the rescue shelter and asked if I could take them back for the rest of my trip, and she was so happy to hear this.

“A few days later, we were finally reunited with them!”

The group of friends continued their travels, with Lola and Lexi in tow, on rented bikes. They managed to source a carrier for the puppies to travel in which was strapped to Charlotte.

Pictured: Charlotte has been travelling around Bali with the puppies on a scooter.

Charlotte said: “We went on so many adventures with the puppies, for example we took them to the beach where they met so many more people and played for hours!  

“We went on walks and out for food with them. They pretty much came everywhere with us as I wouldn’t leave them alone.

“I wouldn’t say we had to adapt our travels too much, as we just got on with it just plus two more. I really enjoyed having the puppies with us and it definitely was an amazing unexpected experience.”

Throughout their travels, the puppies began to gain confidence and their unique personalities came out more.

Charlotte explained: “They got up to so much mischief! They chewed up my sandals and at one hotel they destroyed the flower beds playing as they thought it was fun to run and flop into. They are the most funny and charismatic puppies.”

She added: “Lola is brave and adventurous but also so sweet and cuddly. She’s definitely more boisterous out of the two. 

“She can also be so energetic which is lovely as she will love going down the beach for swims and will be able to go on long walks and I don’t think she’ll get tired!

“Lexi is just so sweet and tiny she loves to snuggle right into you and, although she can a bit be more hesitant, she will copy everything her sister does without hesitation!”

Video: "Help me get my girlies home!"

As Charlotte and her friends approached the end of their trip, they had to make the hard decision to give the puppies back to the rescue shelter. However, Charlotte already had her sights firmly set on bringing Lola and Lexi back to Jersey with her.

She said: “By this point I had already made the decision that I couldn’t leave them there and knew it was worth trying to do that little more to get them home! 

“Leaving them again was hard, but I knew that it was for the best as they were safe and that I would see them again soon.”

Charlotte has now returned home to Jersey, but still has daily conversations with the staff at the rescue shelter to receive updates about the two puppies.

Pictured: The puppies got up to "so much mischief" during their Bali adventures.

She has estimated that it will cost around £4,000 to transport Lola and Lexi back to Jersey, where they will live with Charlotte, her mum and their two dogs.

Charlotte said that her mum is “proud and happy” that she found the puppies and can’t wait to meet them.

She added: “They definitely won’t be short on love, that’s for sure!

“I’m looking forward to giving them the best life I can and to go on so many more adventures with them.”

You can donate to Charlotte's fundraising page HERE.