Dog Lost for 529 Days is Finally Home!
Credit: Unsplash
For 529 days, Valerie the mini dachshund was missing in the wild. Not lost in a neighbor’s backyard or hiding under a bed. Proper lost. In the middle of the Australian bush. Alone.
Now she’s back on the couch, wrapped in blankets, licking her humans’ faces like she never left. She weighs just 10 pounds, has comically short legs and a long body, but apparently she also has the survival skills of a wild animal and the heart of a fighter.
Valerie disappeared in November 2023 during a camping trip on Kangaroo Island. Her owners, Georgia and Josh, searched everywhere. She had a microchip and even an Apple AirTag, but with no nearby devices to ping off, tracking her was useless. They posted in local Facebook groups, left out toys and clothes with her scent, and tried to keep hoping. But when they had to leave the island without her, they were crushed.
“We went over there as three, and we were going back as two,” Josh said.
“It was a very horrible feeling.”
Days turned into weeks, then months. Georgia and Josh told themselves that maybe she was taken in by a kind stranger. Maybe she was warm and safe somewhere. But deep down, they were grieving. Snakes, eagles, wild weather…it didn’t look good.
Then, over a year later, a farmer on Kangaroo Island spotted a small dog darting through the fields and snapped a photo. That photo made its way to Kangala Wildlife Rescue, a group that usually helps native animals but had been quietly keeping tabs on Valerie’s case. One look at the photo and Georgia knew. It was her.
Rescue volunteers tried using regular traps, but they kept catching everything except Valerie. Possums. Wallabies. Even a few curious kangaroos. After weeks of trial and error, they built a special pen. It had a roof, wildlife cameras, and a remote-controlled door. They filled it with roast chicken and Valerie’s old toys. At first, she would sneak in, grab a bite, and dash off. But eventually, she stayed just long enough. They hit the remote. The door shut.
When the rescue team arrived, they heard her barking. She was scared at first, but then she climbed into their laps and fell asleep. She hadn’t just survived. She had waited.
Somehow, Valerie had made it through nearly a year and a half on her own. She was found about 30 miles from the campsite. No one knows exactly how she did it, but the best guess is that she drank from farm troughs, dug into dirt for shelter, and maybe even ate scraps or carcasses. When she was finally checked out by a vet, she was healthy and had even gained a bit of muscle.
“She’s got the physique of a little bodybuilder,” laughed one rescuer.
Back at home now, Valerie has settled in like nothing happened. She still cuddles, still plays with her toys, still bosses everyone around. Georgia says she’s a little more independent now, but she’s still their girl.
When people asked why so much effort went into saving one small dog, the rescuers kept it simple. If it were your dog, wouldn’t you want someone to try?
And Georgia hopes people take something from Valerie’s story. If a tiny dachshund can survive snakes, storms, and 17 months in the wild, maybe we’re all tougher than we think.
