World’s eyes on KI as hunt for Valerie nears its end
Dog lovers all over the world have fallen in love with little Valerie, the runaway dachshund who’s spent 500 days surviving on her own on Kangaroo Island.
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The eyes of the world are fixed on Kangaroo Island, where a plucky little dachshund is seemingly defying the odds.
From places such as Arizona and Idaho in the US, Christchurch in New Zealand and a village in a remote part of Scotland, thousands of people are tuning in to see when tiny runaway Valerie will finally be rescued and reunited with her owners – after more than 500 days surviving alone on the wildlife-rich island.
In Arizona in America’s southwest, 14,000km from Kangaroo Island, Jennifer Henry fell for Valerie when she saw a news story about the determined dog’s incredible survival on her local Fox 10 Phoenix TV station.
Since then, Ms Henry – who has two dalmatians of her own and three cats – has been gripped by updates on the Facebook page of Kangala Wild Rescue, which is closing in on its mission to save Valerie.
The beloved pup bolted from its owners during a short fishing trip in November 2023 but started showing up a site near Stokes Bay earlier this year.
“As an animal lover, I looked it up on Facebook and have been following her story ever since,” said the 54-year-old mortgage broker.
“I’m now invested and hope and pray that they’re able to catch her and return her to her family. (It’s) such a great story of the resilience that animals have.”
In New Zealand, Jacq Lawler has been checking Facebook “about 10 times a day” for updates on Valerie, the “little sausage” who has captured her heart.
“I’ve become addicted to it, it’s the first thing I do every morning. I’m so excited and it’s such a nice story,” says Ms Lawler, who has two dachshunds of her own at her home in Christchurch.
“The fact that this little tiny dog can survive all this time.
“I’m just a little obsessed with sausage dogs – we’ve got two ourselves. We treat them like babies, feed them special food and don’t leave them alone. And here’s little Valerie running around by herself.”
In Idaho, USA, devoted dachshund owner Tammy Lambert is checking daily for updates on Valerie’s wellbeing saying her family is hooked on the breed with six dogs between them – she owns Slinky, Oscar and Carmen.
“My heart broke when I saw the story. She looks like she is in good shape, thank God! Oh the stories she could tell you,” Ms Lambert said.
“I love the video of her playing with the box. They are such fun quirky dogs. Dachshunds have my heart so like all of us following her adventures we pray for her safe return.”
On the other side of the world, in Argyll on the wild west coast of Scotland, dachshund lover Jac Thorpe has also been intently watching Valerie’s story unfold.
The small business owner said she was in awe of how the impressive pup is using her breed’s famous instincts.
“We have been blown away and watching with great interest little Valerie using all of these natural skills to enable her to survive for 500 days on her own. She really is an absolutely amazing little dog and a credit to the resilience of her breed,” said Ms Thorpe, who lives in Arrochar.
“As dachshund owners, we know what a tenacious, independent, hardy, and stubborn little breed they are and what great hunters they can be. They were bred for this purpose, after all.
Valerie’s working ancestors would be proud!”
On a Kangala Wildlife Rescue Facebook update, one Valerie fan commented: “She’s amazing, 2025 winner of Alone Australia. Just need to see her back in her parents’ arms.”
Kangala director Jared Karran said Valerie fever had hit almost overnight, with the organisation’s phone and email running hot as obsession with the little pooch “exploded” around the world.
“It’s been crazy. You can see why given the state of the world at the moment, it’s such a beautiful story,” said Mr Karran, who, together with Kangala volunteers, is keeping an around-the-clock Valerie vigil.
“I had no idea how popular this breed was, it’s almost like a cult following of this breed and all the owners, they just love these dogs.
“All the support around the world is really uplifting for us. Between that and each individual sighting of Valerie, it gives you the energy to keep going.”
Final modifications have been made to a remote-controlled cage in the Stokes Bay area of the island that rescuers hope will safely secure nearly three-year-old Valerie. Her own bedding and toys had been placed inside the cage and she was already responding to their smells.
Mr Karran said Kangala observers could see she was “already transitioning back to being a pet”.
He said it was expected that she would return to live with her owners, Georgia Gardner and Josh Fishlock, in their Albury home with help from dog rescue organisations in NSW.
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Originally published as World’s eyes on KI as hunt for Valerie nears its end
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