Over a year and a half after going missing, a miniature dachshund has surprised everyone by being spotted alive on Australia’s Kangaroo Island.
Valerie disappeared while on vacation with her owners in November 2023. The trio, from the city of Broken Hill in New South Wales, were staying at the Stokes Bay campsite on the island when she escaped from her playpen as the couple went fishing at the nearby beach, and ran to hide under a parked car. Other campers tried to get her out, but she got spooked and ran off from the campsite into bushland.
Her owners, Georgia Gardner and Josh Fishlock, tried in vain to find her with help from locals, but they were unsuccessful.
Georgia said, “We were so upset, and we felt a lot of guilt as well,” explaining that they eventually had to return home to get back to work.
“On the ferry I remember looking at the island, just crying.”
More than 16 months later, however, Valerie has been seen alive and looking healthier than you might expect given her adventures – it’s unlikely that she’s been tucking into the best dog food during her stay on the island. Both camera traps and accounts from eyewitnesses have indicated that she’s still around.
Experts from Kangala Wildlife Rescue, the group that has taken over the search, are surprised to see her survive, writing on social media, “We now know Valerie is alive. She bolts at the first sight of humans or vehicles. Despite incredible efforts by dedicated locals, she remains impossible to catch.”
It’s a shock that such a small dog who had lived a comfortable lifestyle could survive for so long, with Georgia describing her pup as a “little princess” who was usually by their side.
Previously, she thought the dog may have been taken in by a well-meaning resident or residing with other animals, but the fresh footage shows that Valerie has been managing by herself. It’s thought that she survived from eating roadkill and drinking fresh water from dams, while avoiding the island’s venomous snakes.
One new image shows Valerie less than 10 miles from the campsite, so it doesn’t look as though she’s roamed too far. And now, Georgia and Josh are preparing for the idea that they might need to head back to the island to bring their dog home if she’s caught.
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“Even with the new sightings, we didn’t want to get our hopes up,” Gardner said, via The Washington Post. “But now we’re thinking, how do we get there if we need to go get her?”
The search continues, and Georgia has paid tribute to the volunteers and islanders, saying, “We’re extremely grateful for all of the community on Kangaroo Island. They’ve been so lovely to us.
“We were just tourists. They’re just a group of volunteers, they all have their lives and their work responsibilities, and they’re putting in endless amounts of hours and we’re just so, so thankful to all of them.”
We hope you’ll never be in a similar situation, but if you are, here are 10 steps to recovering your canine
