A miniature dachshund named Valerie, who has spent nearly a yr and a half misplaced on a distant island in southern Australia, has been noticed within the wild — now rescue staff and islanders suppose they’re lastly near catching the little pup.
“Fantastic news off the bat,” Jared Karen, a workers member of Kangala Wildlife Rescue, stated in an replace video on the group’s Fb web page.
“We have seen her, and we’ve narrowed down the search area to one specific point where we’ve got cameras in place.”
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He added, “She’s looking really healthy and from here it’s just little steps to continue to get her pretty comfortable.”
Valerie isn’t any survivalist, her proprietor stated. She’s truly fairly the “princess.”
Valerie the wiener canine has been dwelling on a distant island in Australia, evading seize for greater than a yr. Her homeowners, Georgia Gardner and Joshua Fishlock, are proven with their pup. (Georgia Gardner)
“It’s absolutely unbelievable that she has survived a year and a half out there in the wild, honestly,” stated Georgia Gardner, 24, of Albury, Australia.
“She’s an absolute princess who rides in a car seat and only wears the color pink. She didn’t like being away from me at all … It’s just insane to think she’s been out there this long, surviving off instincts and probably eating roadkill and drinking water from dams,” she added.
Valerie went lacking on Nov. 13, 2023, whereas tenting together with her homeowners, Gardner and Joshua Fishlock, 25. The 2 traveled with their canine to Kangaroo Island, greater than 1,000 km from house, and the difficulty started simply two days into the journey.
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“We had taken her to the beach for a swim,” Gardner informed Fox Information Digital. “We decided to go for a fish just very quickly, for like 30 minutes. We left her in her pen with her bed and water and a snuffle mat filled with treats and another dog toy. It had been a big day so we thought she’d be tired.”
Gardner stated she and Fishlock had been fishing not more than 200 meters away from the pen, which was at their campsite. However Valerie, who’s used to being proper by Gardner’s aspect, didn’t like being left alone. So, she broke out of the pen.
Valerie is a dachshund canine who has been dwelling on an Australian island after escaping from her two homeowners. (Georgia Gardner)
“She sat under Josh’s [car], and then some good Samaritans were also camping in the same area, and they were concerned that she’d get run over,” Gardner stated. “So they went to try and catch her, but they kind of ended up chasing her into a nearby bushland.”
Gardner added, “One of them was trying to chase her and the other one came and got us, then we all ran around trying to get her.”
The couple spent the subsequent 5 days mountain climbing by way of the hills and the bushland on the lookout for Valerie.
“It was very awful,” Gardner stated. “We were crying, and we weren’t sleeping, and we weren’t eating very much, and it poured rain the whole time.”
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They reached out through an area Fb web page and related with Tangala Wildlife Rescue. The employees helped them put out a roast rooster and a digital camera, hoping it’d lure Valerie again to them. However there was no luck.
“Finally, we had to leave the island,” Gardner stated. “We both had to return to our full-time jobs. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack.”
“It’s very unlikely that there’s any other sausage dog that’s missing on the island in that area. So that’s why we’re fairly certain it’s her,” one in every of Valerie’s homeowners stated. (Georgia Gardner)
They made the lengthy drive house with one much less member of the family in the automotive.
“We were absolutely devastated,” Gardner stated. “I remember leaving one of her little toys and some of our clothes where we’d last seen her. As we were on the ferry, I remember looking back on the island and just crying.”
Gardner stated once they returned house, they heard Valerie might need been noticed, however nothing got here of it — so she packed up all her issues and tried to maneuver on.
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A yr later, on the anniversary of her disappearance, Gardner posted on Fb once more, saying they nonetheless had religion that Valerie could possibly be alive and that if anybody had seen her to make contact.
“Some people reached out and said that they’d actually seen her on the island a few times over the year,” Gardner stated.
On Feb. 28, there was one other sighting of Valerie that was posted on an area Fb web page. That’s when Kangala Wildlife Rescue bought concerned once more, in keeping with Gardner.
“Because it’s such a small island and a really tight-knit community, they knew the people that had seen her, and they were able to go and speak to them,” Gardner stated. “From there, they created a mission plan to catch her.”
Kangala Wildlife Rescue, based in 2020, organized the set up of extra cameras and a few traps to deliver Valerie house safely.
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“They have put so much time and dedication into finding her,” Gardner stated. “As of Thursday and continuing frequently since then, they’ve seen her on the cameras in the area.”
Kangala Wildlife Rescue, which was based in 2020, organized the set up of extra cameras and a few traps to deliver Valerie house safely. (Georgia Gardner)
“It’s very unlikely that there’s any other sausage dog that’s missing on the island in that area. So that’s why we’re fairly certain it’s her,” she added.
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Gardner stated that if Valerie is caught, she and Fishlock hope to plan a visit and instantly decide her up.
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Donations to assist fund Valerie’s return could be made at kangalawildliferescue.com.
