Kangaroo Island rescuers Kangala Wildlife Rescue share story of how Valerie the missing sausage dog was found on Kangaroo Island

The Kangala Wildlife Rescue team has described in detail the story behind Valerie’s legendary capture. Watch the video and find out what tricks they used to capture the cheeky sausage dog.

The Kangaroo Island rescuers who finally snagged Valerie the elusive miniature dachshund 529 days after she first went missing have shared the moment they captured the sneaky pooch.

In a video posted on their social media accounts on Saturday, Kangala Wildlife Rescue directors and volunteers, Jared and Lisa Karran said the experience was “a roller coaster ride”.

Speaking exclusively to The Advertiser, Mr Karran confirmed that the rescue occurred on Thursday night near Stokes Bay and that Valerie is “in really good condition”.

“We have been liaising with vets during this whole rescue and we had plans in place of what was going to happen in every circumstance,” the volunteer wildlife rescuer said.

“She’ll obviously need to be wormed and all those sorts of things but there’s no health concerns.”

Mr Karran, whose day job is as a police officer, said Valerie’s temperament towards strangers had changed drastically during the trapping mission.

“It was our goal to do that … but … there’s no way I thought it was going to turn out that well.

“All of a sudden this little dog’s gone from this super edgy little thing on camera to a cuddly little pet on the end of your bed.”

As explained in their video, Mr Karran said the remote-control trapping system that the charity manufactured themselves was the key to the group’s success.

Screenshot of Kangala Wildlife Rescue directors and rescue volunteers, Jared and Lisa Karran talking about Valerie's rescue. Picture: Kangala Wildlife Rescue

“I pressed the button and thankfully it all worked perfectly,” Mr Karran said.

“Valerie handled all of that quite well, considering (she’s) a dog who has been out there so long (she) took it in her stride.”

Over the past few weeks the rescue team had been preparing for this moment, using pieces of Valerie’s mum Georgia Gardner’s T-shirt and toys from home to direct her to the trap.

When she was caught, Lisa and her fellow volunteers headed to the trap with Lisa wearing the T-shirt covered in scents from Valerie’s home.

“The most amazing thing I found was that she was never running away at the back of the cage, she was up the front, she was barking, communicating with us,” Mrs Karran.

“There was never fear or shrinking back, which was amazing to see.”

Mrs Karran, who has been a passionate wildlife warrior for years, said Valerie’s survival instinct is what kept the nearly three-year-old pup alive.

“When survival mode happens, the dog is still there, their personality, everything, it just takes time,” Mrs Karran said.

Valerie and her cat friend before her wild adventure. Picture: Supplied

As the barking stopped, Mrs Karran and another volunteer entered the cage and sat calmly with Valerie.

“It was basically on her cues on what to do,” Mrs Karran said.

“We had roast chicken and her favourite dog food as well and those were the first things to help her recognise that we were safe and that we were not a threat.”

Over time, Lisa said Valerie began to sniff the volunteers and was eventually “snuggled up in (their) laps”.

“I was blown away watching it,” Mr Karran said.

Kangala Wildlife Rescue on Kangaroo Island. Picture: Brett Hartwig

After around three hours of sitting with Valerie, the team removed her from the cage to where she is now staying in Kangaroo Island until her family are able to come and pick her up.

“We’re seeing things that she will need to get through but considering what it could have been I think we’re all pretty surprised at how well its gone,” Mr Karran said.

“With dogs that have been lost for a long time, they learn that they don’t need to eat every day, so their stomachs shrink …(so) lots of little feeds.”

Valerie was captured near Stokes Bay on Kangaroo Island. Picture: Brett Hartwig

The Kangala Wildlife Rescue team remain astounded by the international attention ‘catching Valerie’ has drawn, with Mr Karran hoping people will continue to follow their local rescue stories.

The not-for-profit was founded in the wake of the 2020 Kangaroo Island bushfires with their 24/7 rescue services and animal sanctuary being 100 per cent volunteer run.

“Everyone probably thinks that there was a huge amount of money that flowed in for this, but it is only in the last couple of days that we’ve actually covered our expenses on this rescue,” the father-of-two said.

“There was a large outlay on (Valerie’s) rescue in technology, cameras, all that sort of stuff … so anything that we get going forward will obviously go towards our ongoing wildlife here.”

Mr Karran said Valerie will remain on the island for “a week or a bit more” until her owners are able to come and collect her.

“We look forward to handing their little Miss over to them,” Mr Karran said.

Originally published as Kangaroo Island rescuers Kangala Wildlife Rescue share story of how Valerie the missing sausage dog was found on Kangaroo Island