A 3,000-mile journey ends at an empty leash, a testament to a dog’s unwavering love, a hero forever out of reach.

A British bomb disposal expert has been reunited with the adorable puppy he rescued from rubble in Syria – and insists the dog saved his life. Sean Laidlaw pulled little Barrie from a bombed school in the war-torn country in February this year.

The 30-year-old, then stationed in Syria as a bomb disposal expert with the Royal Engineers, heard whimpering before digging out the Asian Shepherd cross. And Barrie became Sean’s “best friend” in the three months after, but in May, the former soldier returned home.

However, the private contractor was reunited with the puppy on Saturday at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. Sean, from Hornchurch, Essex, said: “I feel like it may come across that I saved Barrie’s life, but I feel like she saved mine.

“Working in a war zone, coming back to camp you sit in your room on your own. To have a companion you can play with and train, it kept my mind away from all the things I was seeing and doing out there.

“You can only imagine how bad Syria is, and to be able to come back to the camp and train her for three hours, take her for a walk, things like that really took my mind away from where I was.

“It gave me a bit of normality, she definitely kept me sane.

“She stayed with me all day, every day. She did jobs with me, I’d wake up, she’d come eat with me, she’d then sit in the passenger seat of my car when we drove to Raqqa.

Barrie and Sean were inseparable for months in Syria

Sean says Barrie ‘definitely kept him sane’

“Having a companion, is one of the best things to help with PTSD. A dog always makes you happy, always wants to be with you.”

Sean, who now runs a gym, says he and Barrie became inseparable during their three months in Syria.

He added: “Going to Paris was both exciting and nerve-wracking, but I left the house at 6am and just sped there.

“Meeting her at the airport, seeing her in the flesh, was one of the best moments of my life. I’ve never been so happy.

“Everyone’s got their lives, my parents and girlfriend are at work, and so when I get back I at least know I’ve got my dog, and she’ll always be there.”