Doggone no more: Tiny dog lost in NSW’s Outback reunited with owner after five months

Tiny dog Misha might not be a show champion yet, but she can add Outback survivor to her credentials after spending five months in remote farm land.

Gary Tucker is reunited with Misha, the Tibetan spaniel, after the dog was lost in the outback for five months. Picture: Supplied

A small 16-month old dog lost in the vast outback south of Broken Hill has been reunited with her South Australian owners after five months of fending for itself in “harsh country”.

Misha the Tibetan spaniel went missing in the mayhem of a car crash, 70km from Broken Hill – which left one of the dog’s owners in hospital in the ICU. A 14-month old chihuahua is still missing from the horror crash.

Karen and Gary Tucker, of Lameroo, were heavily involved with show dogs and on their way home from a competition earlier this year when the crash happened on the Barrier Highway, north of Wentworth.

Mrs Tucker said a damaged road caused her to lose control and she crashed with her precious cargo on board.

Misha the Tibetan spaniel ran away when her owners crashed 70km from Broken Hill. Five months later, the dog has been reunited with her Lameroo owners. Picture: Supplied

The crash, 70km from Broken Hill. Picture: Supplied

“I had 15 dogs on board and I was driving a ute that had a purpose-built dog carrier on the back, my husband was behind towing a caravan and my friend was ahead of me,” she said.

“I was doing about 80km/h and there was a pothole … I tried to swerve and go around it but unfortunately the right wheel caught it.”

She said she rolled three times and was trapped in her vehicle.

“There was no signal and the triple-0 call didn’t work in the black spot,” she said.

Remarkably, none of the dogs were injured during the incident however the duo of Misha and Baxter had taken off following the frightening ordeal.

Mrs Tucker said as she recovered from her injuries, her attention was firmly on locating the missing dogs.

“I’ve never given up hope they would still be out there and okay,” she said.

Extensive search parties scoured the area and Mrs Baxter said gyrocopters and drones were used in the search for the beloved pups.

She said a local farmer, Mitch Harrison, had reported a sighting of a dog on an almost 7000 hectare property but months went by and the Tuckers had not heard a thing.

Mr Harrison told The Advertiser his nephew saw the little dog about two months ago, but no one believed him.

“But Debbie, his mother, also said he saw it … then about two or three weeks ago I said I thought I saw it – and no none believed me either.

The missing dogs poster which has been circulating on Facebook.

Gary Tucker is reunited with Misha, the Tibetan spaniel, after the dog was lost in the outback for five months. Picture: Supplied

“So I set up a little trap with an infra-red camera and we saw it, we kept feeding into the trap until we finally got the dog.”

Mr Harrison said the dog seemed to be happy to be touched and was quick to “snuggle” when brought into the house.

Gary Tucker travelled to pick up the dog last week, five months after it first went missing.

Mrs Tucker said apart from losing a little weight and being “absolutely filthy”, Misha was in good shape.

“Apparently Misha was eating kangaroo and they eat bugs … if dogs have a will to live, they find a way,” she said.

“Australia is a harsh country, so she did well out there,” she said.

“I never gave up hope.

Baxter is still missing but Mrs Tucker said she held out hope he would be found alive and well, just as Misha was.

Originally published as Doggone no more: Tiny dog lost in NSW’s Outback reunited with owner after five months