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Holiday romances are often fleeting, but a persistent male quickly stole research scientist Mirelle Radley's heart hours into her trip to Peru. Travelling around South America with her cousin Adam Radley in April last year, Mirelle, felt little excitement about arriving in the land of the Incas, preferring the rich wildlife and diverse ecosystems of neighbouring Costa Rica. But she had no idea her short stay would irrevocably change the course of her life - and that of her new admirer.

"I was utterly exhausted from travelling and practically collapsed into a hammock outside the lodge," Mirelle, 30, recalls. "But then, something started pulling at the edge of the draped canvas. At first, I thought it was Adam being his usual playful self but when a wet nose brushed my hand, I sat up, startled, to find a tiny ball of horizontal fluff and deep grey eyes staring up at me like an old friend."

Leaning in to offer a friendly pat, she called Adam, 40, over to meet the surprisingly bold stray. Her cousin instantly recognised the dog from the roadside when they first arrived. "He must have followed you all the way," Adam joked, but something in his tone suggested he knew this was no ordinary coincidence."

In a country where an estimated six million abandoned or free roaming dogs fill the streets, Mirelle had stumbled upon a true anomaly. After the heartbreak of losing her younger brother to suicide and feeling desperately unfulfilled, she had hoped this trip would help her reassess her goals and finally find some peace in her life.

But suddenly she found herself too preoccupied by her new companion to contemplate her long term future.

"From the moment we met him, he was glued to my side," she explains. "He was so confident and familiar around me, which is highly unusual for the strays there. Most are too scared of humans to even make eye contact, let alone approach you."

Paddy - as Mirelle christened her new pal in a nod to the original Peruvian traveller, Paddington Bear - was different. "The other dogs looked like they'd had their inquisitive nature beaten out of them, but not him," she smiles. "Paddy was one of a kind.

Mirelle was falling for him - fast. Over the next couple of days, he became her loyal shadow. "I thought he would hang around for a bit and then move on to find someone new to follow, but he was everywhere we went," she recalls. On the second day, he was outside the lodge where she slept, patiently waiting. Ben and Mirelle were set for a gruelling hike in rough terrain later that day, so they gave Paddy a huge bone, hoping to discourage him.

"It worked. I assumed that would be the last we saw of him," Mirelle says. "But when we returned six hours later, there he was, sitting patiently. He jumped to his feet, tail wagging furiously when he saw me walking up the path. That was the moment I knew this was no fleeting connection."

The question of Paddy's fate when she left Peru suddenly hit Mirelle with the force of a mountain storm. Beneath his thick, puppy coat, she could feel his bones; the harsh reality of his life as a street dog became impossible to ignore. "All of a sudden, I was besieged by thoughts of what next," says Mirelle.

"I tried to convince myself it would be impossible. I was renting a room in a family home in Cambridge. There's no way they would agree to welcoming a stray from South America - how could I even ask?"

Searching for an escape route she called a local rescue centre, fully expecting them to shut down the idea. "I thought they would tell me there was no way to do it, then I could draw a line under the idea and move on. In fact, the opposite was true - it was absolutely possible and had been done before! I could see it was achievable, but was it recommended? Surely the charity would tell me he'd be fine here - it was his home after all?"

Again, she was wrong. The charity advised that with no spaying or vaccinations available to street dogs, it was highly probable Paddy would die of starvation or disease within weeks or months of her leaving. When she called the family she was boarding with they agreed to take Paddy in without a second thought, so much so Mirelle questioned if they realised she was serious."I was running out of reasons not to adopt him fast," she says.

With only a matter of weeks before her flight back to the UK, the relaxing trip morphed into a race against time. Mirelle had to raise the unknown funds and arrange the multitude of legal documents and vital tests required to bring Paddy home.

"I didn't know the total cost, but I knew it would run into the thousands - the air fare alone would be a huge expense," Mirelle explains. "I arranged for a local family to look after Paddy while I was gone, ensuring he went for all the necessary tests and medical appointments to meet UK travel regulations."

Mirelle set up an online fundraising page, sharing a heartfelt video explaining Paddy's plight on social media. The response was immediate and overwhelming. Within a day, the target had been reached, with extra funds pouring in. The surplus was donated to the local rescue charity Colitas con Canas, run by American Emily Ellis, helping another stray dog find a loving forever family in Germany.

Back in the UK, Mirelle faced an agonising wait, desperate to meet all the deadlines for vaccinations and tests. "I think it's great the UK is strict about not letting dogs in that might have rabies, but it was an agonising wait nonetheless," she says.

Finally, in August, Mirelle and her dad, Keith, a retired media lecturer, made the emotional 12,000-mile round trip to collect Paddy - a mission that cost her £4,000 in total.

"I couldn't believe he was coming home with us this time, and he couldn't believe I was back!" smiles Mirelle. "After the bounciest of hellos and big feelings from all sides, we boarded the plane. Arriving in Cambridge, Paddy was excited to come in and sniff around his new world. I was so worried about house training, but much to our relief, he only went to the toilet if we were outside, preferably in tall grass."

She bought him a very cosy bed, but Paddy promptly snubbed it for the cooler tiled floor. "I guess old habits die hard," she laughs.

She says he adapted well to obedience skills, from understanding boundaries to walking on a lead. "He's still very excitable around other dogs and needs to learn that not all of them are willing to play, but that will come with some dedicated training," she smiles

In January 2026, Mirelle and Paddy moved to Sheffield to live with her dad while she focused on writing her book, Paddy from Peru.

"It was a great way for me to put everything into one place and reflect on what we had all achieved," she says. "I realised I want to continue working with the charity back in Peru and helping them fundraise so they can do more to help the strays there."

Living in England has been a steep, but rewarding, learning curve for her Peruvian playmate. In Peru the temperature hovers between 15 and 25 degrees by day before dropping to near freezing at night, so Paddy struggled to sleep during Britain's humid summer nights.

"We think he is about 18 months old now, judging by the way his coat has changed since we first met - he was all fuzzy back in Peru, but now has a thick, water-resistant coat," says Mirelle.

"Despite having survived on scraps and the occasional rotting cow's head, he has become a very fussy eater, and most vegetables are a no-no, especially broccoli."

Their biggest culinary drama involved a Christmas joint. "We did have a case of food envy at Christmas when my dad cooked a joint of beef and we left it on the table while we cleared away. It did occur to me that it might be too much of a temptation for Paddy to bear, but as he had never attempted to snatch food before, I thought it would be fine - I was wrong! I walked in to find Paddy on the dining table, triumphantly gnawing the meat. It was ever so tasty though, so we couldn't really blame him."

However, the future for the pair looks bright. This summer they are planning to travel around Europe, and beyond that, Mirelle hopes to work full-time with animal charities, particularly the one that helped her in Peru. "I'm looking forward to taking Paddy to lots of different landscapes this year - mountains, vast grassy plains, and coastal towns," she beams. "Paddy definitely prefers the open road to narrow paths, and you can see the uncertainty growing in him when he feels hemmed in."

In awe of her four-legged friend's resilience, Mirelle is determined to continue helping dogs in Peru. "It's my time to pay it forward now," she says. When asked if she has any plans to return to Peru with Paddy, she replies with a glint in her eye, "Well, if they wanted to shoot a movie about us, I wouldn't say no!" At least we know Paddy would be safe to walk the red carpet without incident, thanks to his impeccable house training - watch this space.

• Paddy from Peru by Mirelle Radley (HarperCollins, £20) is out now