A miniature black and tan dachshund, only one-year-old and weighing around eight pounds, went missing on a remote Island off Australia’s southern coast where her owners were camping. The distraught couple got help from the Kangala Wildlife Rescue, a local nonprofit, who set out food, clothing belonging to the owners, and surveillance cameras in the hope of spotting her, but it was like ‘looking for a needle in a haystack.’
Now, 16 months later, she has been spotted on Kangaroo Island with her distinctive pink collar.
Volunteers have narrowed down the search area and are now relying on video surveillance –and roast chicken to tempt her.
“We’re pretty surprised, that’s for sure,” said Georgia Gardner, 24, of Valerie, whom she owns with boyfriend Joshua Fishlock. “She wasn’t even just like a dog; she was an absolute princess as well. She had a car seat, and she slept in our bed,” she said, adding that Valerie would get cranky over being outside for too long.
“Of all dogs, that would be the last one I would say would survive out there but they do have a really good sense of smell,” said Karran, who is leading the search. “That’s probably helped her in terms of finding food.”
Karran said pup Valerie was likely surviving off roadkill and fresh water from local dams while managing to avoid Black Tiger snakes and Pygmy Copperheads, two poisonous snakes that live on the island and pick up small prey.
“We’re extremely grateful for all of the community on Kangaroo Island,” she said. “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.”