Embrace your wild side. One miniature dachshund has been living her own Cast-Away after escaping from her owners on a remote island near Australia.
For the past year and half, the dachshund named Valerie has been surviving in the wild. The dog has dodged every attempt to rescue her and reunite her with her owners. But she seems to be living her best life.
"Fantastic news off the bat," Jared Karen, a staff member of Kangala Wildlife Rescue, said. "We have seen her, and we've narrowed down the search area to one specific point where we've got cameras in place. She's looking really healthy and from here it's just little steps to continue to get her pretty comfortable."
However, her owners said that they're not sure how the dachshund has survived for so long. The dog has been missing since going on a camping trip with owners Georgia Gardner and Joshua Fishlock. The two went to Kangaroo Island and ended up losing their dog.
"It's absolutely unbelievable that she has survived a year and a half out there in the wild, honestly," said Georgia Gardner. "She's an absolute princess who rides in a car seat and only wears the color pink. She didn't like being away from me at all ... It's just insane to think she's been out there this long, surviving off instincts and probably eating roadkill and drinking water from dams," she added.
Dachshund In The Wild
The two owners went to fish and left the dog in a pen at their campsite. "We had taken her to the beach for a swim," Gardner told Fox News Digital. "We decided to go for a fish just very quickly, for like 30 minutes. We left her in her pen with her bed and water and a snuffle mat filled with treats and another dog toy. It had been a big day so we thought she'd be tired."
However, the dachshund broke free from the pen. That's when the situation went from bad to worse.
"She sat under Josh's [car], and then some good Samaritans were also camping in the same area, and they were concerned that she'd get run over," Gardner said. "So they went to try and catch her, but they kind of ended up chasing her into a nearby bushland. One of them was trying to chase her and the other one came and got us, then we all ran around trying to get her."
From there, the dachshund has been missing for going on two years. The couple had to leave without their poor pooch. But Valerie didn't die. Instead, the dog has survived on the island. The owners are still hopeful that rescuers can catch the pooch.
"They have put so much time and dedication into finding her," Gardner said. "As of Thursday and continuing frequently since then, they've seen her on the cameras in the area."
