Whither Valerie, the Dachshund Long Lost On Kangaroo Island
In November 2023, a couple took their pet mini dachshund Valerie on holiday to Kangaroo Island, about eight miles off the coast of Adelaide, Australia. While the dog’s owners, Georgia Gardner and Josh Fishlock, went fishing, Valerie escaped from her pen and disappeared into the bush.
The couple, with help from some locals, searched for their pet for five days before giving up and returning home to New South Wales. It’s been nearly a year and a half since Valerie bailed on her holiday, but now she has reappeared on trail cameras.
“Based on firsthand accounts and video evidence we now know that Valerie is alive,” the Kangala Wildlife Rescue posted on Facebook. “She runs at the first sign of humans or vehicles and despite the best efforts of dedicated Island locals, Valerie has been impossible to catch.”
No one knows what Valerie has been eating these many months on the lam. She might be surviving on roadkill or perhaps the occasional handout from locals. Kangaroo Island is not some tiny, desert isle. It’s 90 miles long and 1,700 square miles big, home to about 4,800 people – and now one dachshund apparently.
The American Kennel Club describes dachshunds as “truly an icon of purebred dogdom,” that are “bred to be an independent hunter of dangerous prey … brave to the point of rashness, and a bit stubborn, but their endearing nature and unique look has won millions of hearts the world over.”
Valerie has definitely won some hearts. Her story has been covered by the Guardian, New York Times, People, and on the “Today” show in Australia and 7News Adelaide, among others. Kangala Wildlife Rescue has parlayed the episode into a fundraising appeal (“Donate Now to Help Valerie!”), and they’re still on the case, 16 months later.
Photo credit: Kangala Wildlife Rescue via Facebook
