Mental Floss

Dachshund Refuses to Come Home After Surviving on a Wild Island for Over a Year

A miniature dachshund continues to elude rescuers on Kangaroo Island.
ByCaLea Johnson|
They‘re cute but also unlikely to survive in the wilderness.
They‘re cute but also unlikely to survive in the wilderness. | Back in the Pack dog portraits/GettyImages

Dachshunds are fierce dogs, but they’re also pretty small. The American Kennel Club shares that standard-sized dachshunds are about 16 to 32 pounds, and miniature ones usually weigh less than 11 pounds. While the dogs were bred for badger hunting, they generally aren‘t good at distance running, jumping, or swimming for long periods. With this in mind, you would assume they wouldn’t last very long in the wilderness. One miniature dachshund from Australia seems to be an outlier.

According to People, Georgia Gardner and Josh Fishlock’s pet dachshund, Valerie, got loose during a vacation on Australia’s Kangaroo Island in November 2023. She reportedly escaped from an enclosure at the Stokes Bay campsite. After days of searching the area, the couple couldn’t find Valerie and eventually had to return home. 

About a year after the incident, the owners saw social media posts about Valerie wandering the island. A few months later, residents still report seeing a dachshund with a pink collar about 15 kilometers (about 9.32 miles) from Stokes Bay. People have tried to rescue Valerie, but the canine is skittish—she bolts when people and vehicles are near, making her “impossible to catch.” Kangala Wildlife Rescue, a nonprofit animal rescue organization, is on the lookout for the tiny pooch. Volunteers at the company are using surveillance, traps, and lures to try and capture Valerie. 

Gardner told The Guardian that Valerie is not an outdoorsy dog, though she has likely adapted to the lifestyle. Professor Paul McGreevy from the University of Sydney’s veterinary school claims that dogs are an opportunistic species. A Kangala director, Jared Karran, suspects that she has been surviving on carcasses and dam water. 

You can support Kangala Wildlife Rescue’s quest to catch Valerie by donating to the organization via their official website. 

Losing a pet is a terrifying experience. If this unfortunate event happens to you, try these tips, including posting images of them on social media and calling local veterinary clinics so they can post a picture of the animal in their offices.

Read More About Dog Behavior:

Home/DOGS