MELBOURNE, Australia — After 18 months, a diminutive dachshund named Valerie has finally been reunited with her owners, having been lost on an Australian island for roughly half her life. Her heartwarming return was made possible by Kangala Wildlife Rescue, who had been instrumental in bringing Valerie back home.
The joyful reunion took place on Kangaroo Island, situated off South Australia’s coast, where Valerie’s owner, Georgia Gardner, was overwhelmed with emotion upon seeing her pet again. “She ran straight up to me — I just burst into tears,” Gardner joyfully recalled in a statement released following the reunion.
Valerie’s uncontainable excitement was evident through her wagging tail and delighted little sounds as she wiggled around. Gardner held the almost 3-year-old dachshund, overcome with emotion after such a long separation. Remarkably, Valerie had been living as a feral animal since she was lost on November 2023, and she was found on April 25 in surprisingly good health. Weighing in at 6.8 kilograms (15 pounds), up from 4 kilograms (9 pounds) when she went missing, it’s speculated that she managed to survive on road kill and animal droppings.
The ordeal began when Gardner and her partner, Josh Fishlock, were vacationing on the island. Valerie escaped from a pen while they were away fishing. Despite their efforts to locate her, they eventually had to leave the island without their beloved pet.
Volunteers with Kangala Wildlife Rescue, a charitable organization, first noticed the unusual sight of a lone dachshund roaming the Australian wilderness in March. After putting in around 1,000 hours of searching and covering approximately 5,000 kilometers (3,000 miles) of the island, they managed to capture Valerie. Upon seeing her, Wildlife Rescue director Jared Karran expressed amazement at her survival. “If it was a miracle that she’s survived — seeing her size — it’s just unbelievable that she was able to survive and thrive out there,” Karran noted.
Georgia Gardner and Josh Fishlock are set to drive Valerie back to their home in Albury, in the state of New South Wales, where she will be reintroduced to her familiar surroundings. Working with a dog behaviorist, Gardner plans to help Valerie readjust to domesticated life and maintain her raw food diet, attributing her remarkable condition to her survival diet.
Once home, Valerie will be welcomed by rescue cat Lucy and cattle dog Mason, and she will also meet Dorothy, a new dachshund addition to her family. Her story is one of endurance and resilience, marking the end of a long journey to reunite with loved ones.