Kangala Wildlife Rescue posted encouraging news regarding the survival and rescue of a mini dachshund named Valerie, who was rescued alive after 529 days in the wilds of Australia. Valerie had been missing on a camping excursion to Kangaroo Island in November 2023 when her owners, Georgia Gardner and Joshua Fishlock, had left her temporarily in a playpen when they went fishing.
When they came back, Valerie was nowhere to be found. Despite the worse threats of venomous snakes and blistering heat, the strong sausage dog survived for more than a year and a half alone. Kangala, the wildlife charity that spearheaded the search and rescue mission, said that they were able to relocate Valerie by creating a “scent trail” through Gardner’s t-shirt to entice her into a trap.
On social media, Kangala posted, “After weeks of relentless effort, Valerie has been rescued safely and is well and fit,” summing up the long process of tracking and catching the dog. Volunteers used food, spy cameras, Gardner’s clothing, and some of Valerie’s toys as they covered over 5,000 kilometres and spent more than 1,000 hours on the operation.
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Lisa Karran, one of the directors of Kangala, described how she approached Valerie gradually after catching the dog. Karran wore Gardner’s remains and sat with Valerie patiently until she was “totally calm.” Jared Karran, her boyfriend and co-director, added in a 15-minute Instagram video, “Of all dogs, that would be the last one I would say would survive out there, but they do have a good sense of smell.”
He also described the tense situation upon apprehending Valerie, stating, “She walked right into the back corner, which was where we wanted her. I pushed the button and fortunately it all worked right.” He responded to criticism of the long search process, stating, “I know people were a little bit frustrated, like ‘why is it taking so long?’ But these are the things that we were doing in the background.”
