Valerie the Mini Dachshund: A Miraculous Return from the Australian Wilderness

Valerie the Mini Dachshund: A Miraculous Return from the Australian Wilderness

After an astonishing 529 days spent braving the rugged Australian wilderness alone, Valerie, a miniature dachshund, is finally back home. Snuggled comfortably on a plush sofa, the tiny canine hardly looks like a survivor of nearly 18 months in the unforgiving bush. She playfully licks the faces of her delighted owners, 24-year-old Georgia Gardner and 25-year-old Josh Fishlock, as they speak remotely.

“She’s absolutely the matriarch of our household,” Gardner remarks with a grin. “It’s her domain, and we’re just fortunate enough to reside in it.”

However, for a harrowing 529 days, Valerie—a diminutive dachshund weighing approximately 10 pounds, characterized by her short legs and a long, sleek black and tan coat—was absent from that very home. Her disappearance occurred during a camping excursion in November 2023 to Kangaroo Island, a remote expanse situated off the southern coast of Australia. It was there that she bolted from their campsite.

Valerie was equipped with a microchip and also sported an Apple AirTag on her collar. Yet, Kangaroo Island is scarcely populated, primarily dedicated to farming and livestock, which limited the AirTag’s ability to transmit its location without nearby Apple Bluetooth devices.

Consequently, the couple initiated standard protocols for a lost pet: they publicized her vanishing on a local Facebook group, strategically placed some of their clothing and Valerie’s toys, imbued with her scent, near the spot where she vanished, and activated the AirTag’s “lost” mode. Despite days of relentless searching alongside community members, Gardner and Fishlock were ultimately compelled to return to mainland Australia, leaving the island without their beloved companion.

“Departing the island was, without doubt, the most agonizing decision I’ve ever confronted,” Fishlock recalled emotionally. “We arrived there as a trio, and we had to leave as a pair. It was an absolutely dreadful sensation.”

The Lingering Hope and Eventual Breakthrough

They clung to a faint hope that Valerie would be discovered swiftly, anticipating a return to the island within a week or two for her retrieval. Nonetheless, weeks bled into months, and still, there was no news of Valerie. Gardner recounted how the couple grappled with the grim reality that their tiny dog had vanished on an island populated by indigenous predators such as snakes and eagles. They even fabricated a comforting narrative for themselves, attempting to believe she had been adopted by an elderly woman on a farm, now enjoying dog biscuits and sleeping in a cozy bed.

“But we absolutely had to confront the real possibility that she might never come home,” Gardner admitted. “We had to navigate through that profound grief.”

Then, unexpectedly, in February of the current year—more than a year after Valerie’s disappearance—a farmer on Kangaroo Island captured a photograph of a small dog sprinting across fields. This image eventually reached Kangala Wildlife Rescue, a local animal sanctuary on the island typically focused on native wildlife rather than domestic pets. Having maintained contact with Valerie’s owners since her disappearance, the rescue shared the photo with them.

Initially, Gardner confessed, they were incredulous.

“There’s no conceivable way a nine-pound dog could endure out there for such an extended period,” she recalled thinking. However, she affirmed, the photograph undeniably depicted Valerie.

Lisa Karran, who operates Kangala Wildlife Rescue alongside her husband Jared, explained that upon receiving the photo, they immediately dedicated their off-hours to rescuing Valerie. It proved to be a formidable undertaking.

The Challenges of Capture

Karran initially presumed that capturing the miniature dachshund would only take a few days. They deployed approximately a dozen “cat traps”—basic cages equipped with a food plate and a latching door. However, they consistently snared almost every creature imaginable—brush tail possums, feral cats, wallabies—everything except Valerie.

“Even a few kangaroos poked their heads inside,” she recounted with a chuckle.

Consequently, Karran and a team of dedicated volunteers began experimenting with diverse trapping methods, often working through long nights with minimal sleep. Eventually, they ingeniously constructed a sizable enclosed pen with a roof, outfitted with multiple wildlife cameras and a remotely controlled door. This elaborate trap was strategically positioned in the last known sighting area of Valerie. Daily, they replenished it with enticing food such as roast chicken and filled it with Valerie’s toys and clothing imbued with the scent of her owners.

Finally, Valerie began to appear, grabbing food before darting away. Then, after nearly two months of persistent attempts to capture the elusive dog, all elements aligned perfectly. Valerie entered the pen, seemed to relax slightly, and then, the remote control was activated, dropping the door.

“It felt surreal walking down to the trap site from the car, and then hearing her barking,” Karran remembered vividly. She carefully climbed into the pen with her daughter, and eventually, Valerie settled onto their laps and drifted off to sleep.

“Our hearts simply shattered at that moment,” Karran expressed. “We knew she never, ever wished to spend another minute out there.”

The Mystery of Survival and a Heartwarming Reunion

No one can definitively explain how Valerie managed to survive so many days in the wild. She was ultimately located approximately 30 miles from her original campsite. Karran speculates that Valerie likely quenched her thirst from nearby farm water sources, burrowed into the earth for shelter, and possibly even scavenged the carcasses of deceased animals.

Following her successful capture, Valerie received a thorough veterinary examination and was declared to be in excellent health. She had even managed to gain some weight. “She possesses the physique of a miniature bodybuilder,” Karran quipped, laughing.

Approximately a month has elapsed since her grand adventure concluded, and Valerie has been reunited with Gardner and Fishlock for about two weeks. They affirm that she has seamlessly reintegrated into home life: playing with her cherished toys, snuggling in bed, and enjoying walks just as she did before her extraordinary disappearance.

“She has returned with a newfound sense of independence,” Gardner observed. “While she remains quite devoted to us, she is undeniably stronger and more self-reliant.”

Karran shared that she has been frequently questioned about why she and her team invested such considerable effort and time into finding one small dog. For her, the rationale was straightforward.

“If it were your pet, what would you wish someone to do?” she pondered. “Wouldn’t you desire someone to exert their utmost effort? As humans, we should all unite and strive to make things right, or at the very least, make the attempt.”

Gardner and Fishlock report being inundated with messages concerning Valerie, many from individuals who expressed that her incredible story instilled hope within them. Gardner hopes this message is the enduring takeaway from the entire saga.

“If a tiny, four-kilogram sausage dog can survive the Australian bush on Kangaroo Island,” she concluded, “then you, too, can overcome whatever challenges you may be facing.”