After spending a year and a half on a remote island in southern Australia, a miniature dachshund named Valerie was found in the wild. Now, rescuers and islanders believe they are finally approaching catching a small puppy.
“Great Bat-off news,” Jared Karen, a staff member at Kangara Wildlife Rescue, said in an update video on the organization’s Facebook page.
“We’ve seen her. We narrowed down our search area and narrowed down to a specific point where the camera is in place.”
He added, “She looks really healthy and it’s a little step to keeping her quite comfortable from here.”
Valerie is not a survivalist, her owner said. She is actually quite “princess.”
Valerie the Wiener Dog lives on a remote Australian island and has avoided capture for over a year. Her owners, Georgia Gardner and Joshua Fishlock, are shown along with the puppy. (Georgia Gardner)
“It’s absolutely incredible that she survived there for a year and a half In the wildhonestly, said Georgia Gardner, 24, of Albury, Australia.
“She’s an absolute princess who rides in a car seat and wears only pink colours. She didn’t like being away from me at all… It’s crazy to think she’s there for this long, survived her instincts and probably eating roadkills and drinking water from the dam,” she added.
Valerie went missing on November 13, 2023 and camped with owners Gardner and Joshua Fishlock, 25. Their dog To Kangaroo Island, more than 1,000 km from his home, and Trouble began just two days of the trip.
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“We took her to the beach for a swim,” Gardner told Fox News Digital. “We decided to go fish Very fast, about 30 minutes. We left her with her pen with her bed and water, a snuffle mat filled with snacks and another dog toy. It was a big day and we thought she was tired. ”
Gardner said her and Fishlock. It was fishing It was over 200 meters away from the pen at the campsite. But Valerie, who was used to being right on Gardner’s part, didn’t like to leave him alone. So she broke out of the pen.
Valerie is a dachshund dog who lived on an Australian island after fleeing from their two owners. (Georgia Gardner)
“She was sitting under Josh [car]and some good Samaritans were camping in the same area, and they were worried that she would run away,” Gardner said.
Gardner said, “One of them was trying to chase her and after the other came and got us, we were all running around trying to get her.”
The couple spent the next five days hiking Hills and bushlands looking for Valerie.
“It was so bad,” Gardner said. “We were crying, we weren’t sleeping, and we weren’t eating much, and it rained the whole time.”
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They reached out through their local Facebook page and connected with Tangala Wildlife Rescue. The workers helped them to leave Roast chicken And the camera, hoping it will bring Valerie back to them. But there was no luck.
“Finally, I had to leave the island,” Gardner said. “We both had to go back to full-time jobs, like looking for needles in a haystack.”
“It’s very unlikely that there are other sausage dogs missing on the island in the area, so we’re pretty sure it’s her,” said one of Valerie’s owners. (Georgia Gardner)
They went home for a long drive, part of a family car.
“We were absolutely devastated,” Gardner said. “I remember leaving one of her little toys and the last outfit we saw her. I remember looking back at the island and crying as we were on the ferry.”
When they returned home, Gardner heard that Valerie had been found, but nothing happened so she packed everything and tried to move on.
A year later, on her loss of anniversary, Gardner again posted to Facebook.
“Some people reached out and said they actually saw her on the island several times a year,” Gardner said.
On February 28th, there was another sighting of Valerie posted on the local Facebook page. Gardner said that when Kangara wildlife rescue was once again involved.
“It’s a very small island and a really close community, so they knew the people who saw her and could go and talk to them,” Gardner said. “From there they created a mission plan to get her.”
Founded in 2020, Kangara Wildlife Rescue held more cameras and several trap installations, bringing Valerie home safely.
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“They spent so much time and dedication finding her,” Gardner said. “As of Thursday, they’ve seen her, which has been going on since often. camera In the area. ”
Founded in 2020, Kangara Wildlife Rescue held more cameras and several trap installations, bringing Valerie home safely. (Georgia Gardner)
“It’s very unlikely that there are other sausage dogs that are missing on the island in the area, so we’re pretty sure it’s her,” she added.
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Gardner said that if Valerie is caught, she and Fishlock hope to plan a trip and pick her up soon.
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Donations to fund Valerie’s returns can be made at kangalawildliferescue.com.
