Runaway dog missing for 529 days finally captured on island teeming with kangaroos, koalas and penguins

CBS News

28-04-2025

A runaway dog named Valerie has been captured after a 529-day adventure, transfixing Australia as she roamed an island teeming with kangaroos, possums, koala bears and penguins.
The miniature dachshund had eluded searchers on Kangaroo Island since November 2023, only rarely appearing in fuzzy glimpses caught by night-time cameras that showed her pink collar.
"Valerie has been safely rescued and is alive and well," the wildlife group that spent months tracking the wily canine on the southern Australian island said late Friday.
"We are absolutely thrilled and deeply relieved that Valerie is finally safe and able to begin her transition back to her loving parents," Kangala Wildlife Rescue posted on social media, along with a brief video clip of the pooch.
𝗞𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗹𝗮 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗰𝘂𝗲 𝗖𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗢𝗳 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲'𝘀 𝗙𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝗰𝗵𝘀𝗵𝘂𝗻𝗱, 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲! 💚💚💚 Kangala Wildlife Rescue is overjoyed to announce the successful rescue of Valerie, the miniture dachshund who went missing on Kangaroo Island 529 days ago. 💚💚💚 After weeks of tireless efforts by Kangala Wildlife Rescue volunteers and partner organisations Valerie has been safely rescued and 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, Josh and Georgia. 💚💚💚 This rescue was a true testament to the dedication and perseverance of our team, the unwavering support of the community, and the power of collaboration. There were many challenging moments over the past month, and we are incredibly grateful to everyone who played a part in bringing Valerie home. 💚💚💚 The search for Valerie involved over 1000 volunteer hours and more than 5000 km travelled by volunteers in their private vehicles, the deployment and monitoring of numerous cameras and traps and the use of various forms of technology to successfully secure Valerie while ensuring her physical and psychological welfare. 💚💚💚 Kangala Wildlife Rescue would like to thank all those who offered their time, resources, and support during this demanding operation. 💚💚💚 This successful outcome highlights the vital role that wildlife rescue organisations play in our community, extending their expertise and compassion to all animals in need. Valerie's story is a reminder that hope and determination can lead to incredible results. 💚💚💚 The Kangala team are currently taking a short pause to process this amazing result and gather ourselves after the intense rescue efforts. We are excited to share further details about Valerie's rescue, including footage and photographs, very soon. Please patiently stay tuned to our social media channels for updates. 💚💚💚 𝐊𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐥𝐚 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐫-𝐫𝐮𝐧 𝐍𝐨𝐭-𝐟𝐨𝐫-𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟎 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬. 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐊𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐨 𝐈𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐣𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐚 𝟐𝟒/𝟕 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬. 𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚 𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞. 💚💚💚 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭 𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞'𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞. 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐤𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞.𝐜𝐨𝐦 💚💚💚 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗘𝗻𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀: 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮.𝗸𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗰𝘂𝗲@𝗴𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺 #catchingvalerie #kangarooisland #animalrescue #lostdog #Volunteer Posted by Kangala Wildlife Rescue on Friday, April 25, 2025
Valerie made her escape during a camping trip with owners Georgia Gardner and her partner Josh Fishlock, dashing out of a pen and into the bush.
Her owners gave up after days of searching on the island, which spans more than 4,400 square kilometres (1,700 square miles) of farms, nature reserves, and craggy cliffs.
The missing mutt was not seen for more than a year, with many holding out little hope for her survival.
Then, video surveillance and locals began spotting her, and volunteers launched a patient hunt for the hound, which seemed to flee from people and cars.
"Valerie seems impossible to trap," wildlife rescuers posted on social media last month.
Investing more than 1,000 hours, volunteer searchers drove more than 3,100 miles and deployed cameras, traps and lures.
"This rescue was a true testament to the dedication and perseverance of our team, the unwavering support of the community, and the power of collaboration," Kangala Wildlife Rescue wrote. "There were many challenging moments over the past month, and we are incredibly grateful to everyone who played a part in bringing Valerie home."
Valerie was captured after a 529 days on Kanagroo Island in Australia.
Kangala Wildlife Rescue
Regular online updates gave hope they were gradually closing in.
Snatches of black-and-white video showed Valerie regularly visiting a trap site, set up with a dog crate, blankets and toys -- though the facilities also attracted possums.
"Incredibly grateful"
Finally, she was lured into the crate by the scent from torn-up strips of a shirt worn by her owner Georgia, Kangala directors Jared and Lisa Karran said in a video update.
"She was rummaging around, finding little food stashes all over the place. Then she went right to the back corner, which is where we wanted her," said Jared Karran.
"I pressed the button and, thankfully, it all worked perfectly: the remote dropped the door and that was all secured."
As the four-legged escape artist became used to her new surroundings, Lisa Karran got in the crate to be with her.
But she entered from the top to avoid opening a side door.
"No way we were letting that sausage dog run away on us again," Jared said.
On her return to civilization, Valerie was treated to dog food and her favorite, roast chicken.
Sizing up the adventurer, Jared said she was surprisingly small.
"I think that she looks quite big on the camera. When I saw her in real life, she is tiny. She's got, like, an inch clearance under her belly, tiny little legs."
Despite their modest dimensions, dachshunds are "game for anything", according to the American Kennel Club.
"Bred to be an independent hunter of dangerous prey, they can be brave to the point of rashness, and a bit stubborn," it says.
Valerie's owner Gardner said in a social media post that she was "incredibly grateful" to the volunteers who helped find her dog.
"For anyone who's ever lost a pet, your feelings are valid and never give up hope."