Mini dachshund who escaped owners 1 year ago continues to evade capture on remote island

A miniature dachshund named Valerie, who has spent astir a twelvemonth and a fractional mislaid connected a distant land successful confederate Australia, has been spotted successful the chaotic and rescue workers and islanders deliberation they are yet adjacent to catching the small pup.

"Fantastic quality disconnected the bat," Jared Karen, a unit subordinate of Kangala Wildlife Rescue, said successful an update video connected the organization’s Facebook page.

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"We person seen her, and we’ve narrowed down the hunt country to 1 circumstantial constituent wherever we’ve got cameras successful place. She’s looking truly steadfast and from present it’s conscionable small steps to proceed to get her beauteous comfortable."

Valerie is nary survivalist, her proprietor said. In fact, she’s rather the "princess."

Valerie the wiener canine has been surviving connected a distant land successful Australia, evading seizure for much than a year. Her owners, Georgia Gardner and Joshua Fishlock, airs with their pup. (Georgia Gardner)

"It's perfectly unbelievable that she has survived a twelvemonth and a fractional retired determination successful the wild, honestly," said Georgia Gardner, 24, of Albury, Australia. She’s an implicit princess who rides successful a car spot and lone wears the colour pink. She didn't similar being distant from maine astatine all." 

"It’s conscionable insane to deliberation she's been retired determination this long, surviving disconnected instincts and astir apt eating roadkill and drinking h2o from dams," helium added.

Valerie went missing connected Nov. 13, 2023, portion camping with her owners, Gardner and Joshua Fishlock, 25. The 2 traveled with their canine to Kangaroo Island, much than 1,000 km from home, and the occupation began conscionable 2 days into the trip.

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"We had taken her to the formation for a swim," Gardner told Fox News Digital. "We decided to spell for a food conscionable precise quickly, for similar 30 minutes. We near her successful her pen with her furniture and h2o and a snuffle mat filled with treats and different canine toy. It had been a large time truthful we thought she'd beryllium tired." 

Gardner said she and Fishlock were sportfishing nary much than 200 meters distant from the pen, which was astatine their campsite. But Valerie, who’s utilized to being close by Gardner’s side, didn’t similar being near alone. So, she broke retired of the pen.

Valerie is simply a dachshund canine who has been surviving connected an Australian land aft escaping from her 2 owners. (Georgia Gardner)

"She sat nether Josh's [car], and past immoderate bully Samaritans were besides camping successful the aforesaid area, and they were acrophobic that she'd get tally over," Gardner said. "So past they went to effort and drawback her, but they benignant of ended up chasing her into a adjacent bushland." 

"One of them was trying to pursuit her and the different 1 came and got us, past we each ran astir trying to get her," Gardner added.

The mates spent the adjacent 5 days hiking done the hills and the bushland looking for Valerie. 

"It was precise awful," Gardner said. "We were crying, and we weren't sleeping, and we weren't eating precise much, and it poured rainfall the full time."

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They reached retired via a section Facebook leafage and connected with Tangala Wildlife Rescue, and the workers helped them enactment retired a roast chickenhearted and a camera, hoping it mightiness lure Valerie backmost to them. But determination was nary luck.

"Finally, we had to permission the island," Gardner said. "We some had to instrumentality to our full-time jobs. It was similar looking for a needle successful a haystack."

"It's precise improbable that there's immoderate different sausage canine that's missing connected the land successful that area. So that's wherefore we're reasonably definite it's her," 1 of Valerie's owners said. (Georgia Gardner)

They made the agelong thrust location with 1 little household subordinate successful the car.

"We were perfectly devastated," Gardner said. "I retrieve leaving 1 of her small toys and immoderate of our apparel wherever we'd past seen her. As we were connected the ferry, I remember, like, looking backmost connected the land and conscionable crying." 

Gardner said erstwhile they returned home, they heard Valerie mightiness person been spotted, but thing came of it, truthful she packed up each her things and tried to determination on.

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A twelvemonth later, connected the day of her disappearance, Gardner posted connected Facebook again, saying they inactive had religion that Valerie could beryllium live and that if anyone had seen her to marque contact. 

"Some radical reached retired and said that they'd really seen her connected the land a fewer times implicit the year," Gardner said. 

On Feb. 28, determination was different sighting of Valerie that was posted connected a section Facebook page. That's erstwhile Kangala Wildlife Rescue got progressive again, according to Gardner.

"Because it's specified a tiny land and a truly tight-knit community, they knew the radical that had seen her, and they were capable to spell and talk to them," Gardner said. "From there, they created a ngo program to drawback her." 

Kangala Wildlife Rescue, which was founded successful 2020, organized the installation of much cameras and immoderate traps to bring Valerie location safely.

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"They person enactment truthful overmuch clip and dedication into uncovering her," Gardner said. "As of Thursday and continuing often since then, they've seen her connected the cameras successful the area."

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Kangala Wildlife Rescue, which was founded successful 2020, organized the installation of much cameras and immoderate traps to bring Valerie location safely. (Georgia Gardner)

"It's precise improbable that there's immoderate different sausage canine that's missing connected the land successful that area. So that's wherefore we're reasonably definite it's her," she added.

Gardner said that if Valerie is caught, she and Fishlock anticipation to program a travel and instantly prime her up.

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Donations to assistance money Valerie’s instrumentality tin beryllium made astatine kangalawildliferescue.com.