Valerie managed to survive in harsh conditions for more than a year (Picture: Kangala Wildlife Rescue)
A sausage dog has been found ‘fit and well’ despite spending 529 days alone in the Australian bush.
Valerie’s fate has transfixed the Australian public since she went missing on Kangaroo Island in November 2023.
After ‘weeks of tireless efforts … by volunteers and partner organisations the miniature dachshund has been safely rescued and is fit and well,’ Kangala Wildlife Rescue said last night.
Its volunteers spent an estimated 1,000 hours and travelled more than 3,000 miles around the island searching for her before she was eventually caught using cameras and prepared traps.
In a TikTok video posted last night,the group said it is ‘overjoyed’ to announce Valeri’s ‘successful rescue’,adding that she is ‘fit and well’.
‘We are absolutely thrilled and deeply relieved that Valerie is finally safe and able to begin her transition back to her loving parents,’ it said in a statement.
Valerie vanished while with her owners – New South Wales couple Georgia Gardner and Josh Fishlock – were holidaying at Stokes Bay.
It is home to one of Australia’s best beaches but also farmland and dense scrub,making the search difficult.
The search for Valerie has attracted worldwide news coverage (Picture: Kangala Wildlife Rescue)
Valerie escaped from her pen at their campsite before running into the scrub. The pair searched for her with the help of locals but to no avail.
It was feared that she would never be found.
Then in March reports began coming in that Valerie had been spotted.
One picture appeared to show the dog’s oversized ears poking above some paddock stubble.
Follow us to receive the latest news updates from Metro (Picture: Getty Images)Metro’s on Whatsapp! Join our community for breaking news and juicy stories.Kangala Wildlife Rescue volunteers promptly used surveillance,traps and lures to try to find Valerie on the island – which is six times the size of Singapore.They captured a video of her,but she remained at large – prompting news of the search to attract worldwide coverage.
Valerie was eventually caught using traps and lures (Picture: Kangala Wildlife Rescue/Facebook)‘Kangaroo Island is known for many things … dogs that survive for 500 days is not what you expect,’ resident and animal lover Louise Custance said in April when asked why the search has attracted so much coverage.‘I think people just want to have a good news story; otherwise,everything’s so sad. The last global headline that Kangaroo Island made was the (2020) fires.’‘There were many challenging moments over the past month,’ the group said,‘and we are incredibly grateful to everyone who played a part in bringing Valerie home.’
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