DUBAI: Part-Saudi model Shanina Shaik took to Instagram this week to ask fans to help reunite her with her pet dog Choppa. The Victoria’s Secret model recently moved back to the US from the UK, where she had spent the past year in quarantine with her beloved French bulldog. The 30-year-old disclosed that while she was able to make the trip across the Atlantic, her pet was unable to accompany her and now she is doing everything she can to bring her furry friend home.
“We’ve come to a few roadblocks,” she shared with her 2.2 million Instagram followers, adding it’s been “really difficult.”
She went on to ask if any of her friends or followers are traveling to the US from the UK and would be able to help her return her pet pooch home.
“I’m asking any of my friends who are flying private, or anyone who’s flying private from the UK and coming back to the USA if you could please contact me and DM me. I would be happy to pay for Choppa’s flight and seat on the plane,” Shaik said. “I’d be so appreciative if you did that for me,” she added.
It is unclear why Shaik cannot undertake the trip herself, but the model has had visa-related issues in recent history and only in February obtained a visa to enter America, thanks to US Immigration Attorney Carlos Rosas who helped her and made “the unimaginable happen,” according to an Instagram post.
In a past interview, Shaik revealed that she had left two dogs in Australia when she first moved to New York aged 17 to pursue her modeling career. After moving, she adopted Choppa.
The model, who is of Saudi, Pakistani, Australian and Lithuanian descent, regularly takes to social media to gush about her dog and even set up an Instagram account for her canine companion, which she has had for several years.
The dog is also ever-present on Shaik’s social media accounts and regularly travels with the jet-setting model, who has walked the Victoria’s Secret runway five times.
“My travel buddy,” she captioned an adorable snap of the canine during one of her trips last summer.
Indeed, Shaik’s beloved pet has been present for some of the most monumental milestones of the Melbourne-born model’s life.
Choppa accompanied Shaik at her legal marriage ceremony to her ex-husband DJ Ruckus (born Gregory Andrews) in the Bahamas in 2018.