Gold Coast man, Marcus Lee, jailed in Dubai brings furry friend home despite the $20,000 price tag

FLAT broke and finally free from hell, Marcus Lee was going to get his furbaby Dudley back from Dubai no matter what cost. Even if it meant returning to the UAE.

Marcus and Julie Lee have been reunited with their dog Dudley who has been stuck in Quara

HE’S the $20,000 dog.

That’s what it cost Marcus and Julie Lee to get little Yorkshire terrier Dudley ­released from quarantine in Dubai so he could come home to Australia.

The Lees are flat broke, have maxed out their credit cards, are living in a small house at Burleigh lent by a friend and used a another mate’s car to drive from the Sydney quarantine facility to the Gold Coast.

MARCUS LEE FINALLY ALLOWED TO LEAVE DUBAI

But they say retrieving 13-year-old Dudley from Dubai was worth every cent.

“We were never going to leave Dudley behind, he is part of the family,” Mr Lee said.

“After five years and three months, the family is finally back together.

“This saga is finally over and we can start to rebuild our lives.”

Dudley while he was in quarantine in Dubai

That “saga” saw Mr Lee thrown into a Dubai jail on Australia Day, 2009, after being accused of a crime he never committed.

After a hellish ordeal that included nine months in a Dubai jail and two months in solitary confinement, he was eventually thrice acquitted of allegations of fraud brought by Gold Coast property developer Sunland. The Lees were cleared to fly home to Australia in January, with Dudley due to follow days later.

Then they were told he needed a rabies all-clear before he could fly.

They began an expensive process, including sending his blood to a lab in London so he could gain the all-clear to leave Dubai.

A month ago, as they were preparing to book his flight home, the Lees received more bad news — Dudley had failed a final quarantine check and did not have enough tick antibodies in his system.

The Bulletin can now ­reveal that Julie Lee was forced to fly back to Dubai with a special course of antibiotics so the beloved pet could be released.

Despite massive media interest in Dudley’s fate, the pair kept that under wraps, fearful of upsetting sensitive Dubai authorities.

“Julie was terrified,” Mr Lee said.

“She had her passport taken off her in Dubai and until she was back on that plane for a second time, I was on a knife’s edge.

“We were most fearful of the randomness of the Dubai legal system. You never know what they might decide to do to you day to day.

“I was sitting here and Julie was over there — a woman alone in an Arab country and there was nothing I could do to help.”

Marcus and Julie Lee have been reunited with their dog Dudley who has been stuck in Quarantine in Dubai. Pic Jono Searle.

At last safely reunited on the Gold Coast, the Lees’ nightmare is finally over.

“Monday night was the first night in five years and three months that we were under the one roof with Dudley and are officially free,” an elated Mr Lee said.

And Dudley is one spoiled and happy dog.

“He’s been getting lots of cuddles and treats, he has his own dog bed on the lounge.

“We’re just so happy to have him home,” Mrs Lee said.