In brief
After nearly 18 months of being missing, Valerie's incredible journey has captured the attention of her community as she begins her return to a domestic life.
Valerie, a miniature dachshund, went missing in November 2023 after slipping from her pen on Kangaroo Island, South Australia. Her disappearance led to an extensive search by her owners, Josh Fishlock and Georgia Gardner, who, after five days of looking, sadly had to call off the search. For 529 days, Valerie survived in the wild, despite occasional sightings reported by locals and captured by surveillance cameras.Recently, her rescuers announced that Valerie has been located in a safe condition, prompting a sense of relief and excitement. Jared Karran from Kangala Wildlife Rescue shared details about the challenging rescue efforts that finally brought her home. Recognizable by her pink collar, Valerie's last known sightings were approximately ten miles from the place she originally escaped. Her owners described Valerie as a dog not suited for the outdoors, raising questions about how she managed to survive. Locals have suggested that she likely survived by accessing water from local dams and scavenging plants and roadkill. Following her rescue, Valerie is now undergoing a re-acclimatization process to ease her transition back into domestic life with her family, which would take some time before the much-anticipated reunion can take place.
