A soldier fell in love with a three-legged puppy after finding it on the side of a dirt track in Cyprus - and is now adopting him and his sister.

Martin Ridley, 42, found two one-month-old Belgian Malinois puppies - who he has named Oscar and Riley - during a night patrol on February 14, 2025.

The two puppies were on the side of a dirt track when Martin found them with his partner, Nicholas Brown, 34 - and one of the pups was missing a leg after an animal attack.

The soldiers called a local rescue centre but no one was able to help as it was the middle of the night.

But Martin was besotted and has decided to adopt Oscar. His partner is hoping to adopt Riley and the pair are raising £1,200 to take the dogs back to the UK and take care of them.

Martin, an army reserve solider, from Darlington, County Durham, said: "I couldn't leave them. They slept at the camp with me in my arms all night."



"I just fell in love with the puppy that was injured. It wouldn't have survived after being attacked by an animal and it was only one month old."



Martin was on the eastern side of the buffer zone on a night patrol when he spotted the dogs with Nicholas.

The soldiers took the two puppies to the vets the following day but they were refused care at the rescue centre again as they were too young and hadn't had any injections.

The one-legged pup - now named Oscar - was cleaned and shaved at the vets and they gave him antibiotics.

After discovering there was no suitable and safe option for the puppies in Cyprus, the soldiers have made it their mission to raise £1,200 to take the dogs back to the UK and take care of them themselves.

They need the funds to cover transport, injections, passports and vets bills.

Martin said: "It is obviously a lot of money when I have a mortgage to pay and a family of my own to feed, but my main aim is to try raise the money so I can take care of them."



"I will take a loan out to take care of them and go into debt if I have to, but it would be best to avoid that, for my family's sake."



Help Martin and Nicholas get the puppies home here - https://www.gofundme.com/f/send-oscar-and-riley-to-the-uk?cdn-cache=0