A runaway miniature dachshund in Australia named Valerie has been found alive and well after she went missing for 529 days in the wilderness.
Wildlife searchers announced late Friday that Valerie had been safely rescued on Kangaroo Island off the coast of South Australia. The beloved sausage dog had captured international attention after disappearing in November 2023 during a camping trip with her owners, Josh Fishlock and Georgia Gardner.
“We are absolutely thrilled and deeply relieved that Valerie is finally safe,” Kangala Wildlife Rescue said on Facebook, sparking joy and relief on social media.
The nonprofit group said its volunteers had spent more than 1,000 hours and traveled more than 3,000 miles in the search operation, which involved numerous cameras and traps.
Kangala directors Jared and Lisa Karran said the team created a scent trail using Valerie’s toys and pieces ripped off a shirt Gardner had worn for 12 hours at a time. The trail eventually lured the dog into a cage they had set up.
“She went right into the back corner,” Jared Karran said Saturday in a video. “I pressed the button, and thankfully, it all worked perfectly.”
Lisa Karran, who was wearing the remnants of Gardner’s “tatty” shirt, then sat outside the cage with other rescuers so Valerie could grow familiar with them. After a while, the team proceeded to enter the enclosure one by one.
“She came up, would sniff us and we’d just go by her cues, until she was completely calm and snuggled up in our laps. It was amazing,” Lisa Karran said.
Gardner said she was “incredibly grateful” to the rescue group and was looking forward to being reunited with Valerie soon.
“For anyone who’s ever lost a pet, your feelings are valid and never give up hope,” Gardner said on Facebook. “Sometimes good things happen to good people.”
Jared Karran said the team would return Valerie, who is now “decompressing,” to her owners in a week or so.
Valerie went on the loose when her owners left her briefly at their campsite to go fishing. The duo, assisted by locals, searched for Valerie but couldn’t find her.
The dog was presumed dead since it was highly unlikely she could survive alone on Kangaroo Island, which is home to venomous snakes and spiders. About a year later, frequent sightings of a dachshund with a pink collar began to emerge, Kangala Wildlife Rescue said.
The group concluded from firsthand accounts and video evidence that Valerie was still alive. Catching her was not easy, however, since she ran at the first sign of humans or vehicles.
Rescuers said in March that they were also “constantly competing with hundreds of wildlife like possums, wallabies, kangaroos, Goannas and feral cats,” making the operation “not as easy as just baiting and setting traps.”
Kangaroo Island is the third-largest island in Australia and is renowned for its rich native wildlife, including more than 30 threatened animal and plant species. The island’s visitor spending hit a record high of $180 million in the year to June 2023, far exceeding the annual target of $127 million officials hoped to reach by 2025, according to the Australian government.
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