A campaign has been launched to bring Buttons, the 17-year-old Pembrokeshire sea dog, home to the safe harbour of his family.

Bearded Buttons has been living the life on the ocean wave for the past seven years as he sailed around the Mediterranean with his owners, Colin and Jane Spiers, formerly of Llanddewi Velfrey.

But 71-year-old Mr Spiers’ sudden death on his 40-foot yacht in Turkey in May spelt the end of the dream for the family.

Mrs Spiers is now back in the UK and so is Buttons - but for the past five weeks he had been held in a quarantine kennel and looks set to be there until the end of August.

The reason is because there was a lapse of just two days in his rabies vaccination more than two years ago.

“I am just so frightened that Buttons is going to die behind bars,” Mrs Spiers told the Western Telegraph this week. “He has a heart murmur, cataracts, deafness and arthritis and he is also pining badly for us, and particularly Colin."

Currently in Bath where she is looking after her elderly father following the recent death of her mother, Mrs Spiers added: “My life at the moment is desperately sad and stressful, further compounded by the heartache of knowing that our much-loved family pet is isolated and away from those who love him so much.

“I went to see him in kennels and it broke my heart; he was just so sad and old.

“He’s always been a sparky, plucky little dog and was known on most of the waterfronts on the Med because of his magnificent beard and his fondness for a cappuccino in the mornings,”

She said that the kennels are ‘at a loss’ as to why Buttons - a Jack Russell/Cairn terrier cross - has been quarantined, as he is not considered to be a rabies risk and has a high level of antibodies in his blood Eminent vet Ian Wright, the head of The European Scientific Counsel for Companion Animal Parasites (ESCCAP) UK & Ireland has told Mrs Spiers: “There is no known carrier state for rabies beyond six months to a year.”

Said Mrs Spiers: “There is no chance that Buttons could be carrying rabies. He is just a victim of a tick box exercise by DEFRA.”

An appeal has now been made to Farming, Food and Marine Environment minister George Eustice by Carmarthen west and South Pembrokeshire MP Simon Hart.

He told him: “I would urge you to intervene in this exceptional case and let Buttons be returned to his family. He quite clearly is not a rabies risk. This is a case of red tape superseding common sense.”

A Defra spokesperson said: "There are strict rules in place to protect the UK from the threat of diseases like rabies entering the country.
 
“We are looking into the details of this individual case."

You can add your support on Twiter using the hashtag #freebuttons