Lived 529 days on the island: rescuers found a miniature dachshund Valerie, who disappeared in South Australia, safe and sound

After 529 days of disappearance, Valerie the dachshund was caught on Kangaroo Island in Australia. 

UNN reports with reference to BBC.

Details

Valerie the dachshund, a runaway dog, survived 529 days alone in the Australian desert and has finally returned to her owners. The search for the dog lasted for many months, although reports of her appearance were received repeatedly.

Reference

16 months ago, Georgia Gardner took her dwarf dachshund Valerie on a trip to Kangaroo Island off the south coast of Australia. But it so happened that her four-legged friend escaped. Georgia and her boyfriend Joshua Fishlock were vacationing with the dog at a campsite when the dachshund wandered into the bushes and subsequently disappeared completely. The owners unsuccessfully searched for her for a week.

The search was continued by specialists from Kangala Wildlife Rescue

The Kangala Wildlife Rescue Service says that volunteers used surveillance cameras, food traps and a lot of patience to finally catch Valerie. More than 1,000 hours were spent searching for Valerie, and the people involved in this case covered more than 5,000 km.

And finally - it worked. 

Kangala Wildlife Rescue is pleased to announce the successful rescue of Valerie, a miniature dachshund who disappeared on Kangaroo Island 529 days ago

What helped in the rescue of Valerie the dachshund

Valerie's 529 days in the desert, where she survived extreme heat and avoided poisonous snakes, were partially completed by using Ms. Gardner's T-shirt to create a "scent trail" leading to the trap.

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In a 15-minute video on social media, Lisa Curran, director of Kangala Wildlife Rescue and her husband explained how the rescue took place.

Volunteers had to wait until Valerie was in the right part of the trap and calmed down enough to make sure she wouldn't try to escape again.

She went straight to the back corner, where we wanted her to be. I pressed the button, and luckily, everything worked perfectly

"I know people were a little frustrated asking, 'Why is this taking so long?' But that's what we were doing in the background," he said.