Earlier this year, Australia and the world were on the edge of their seats following the story of an elusive, runaway sausage dog on Kangaroo Island. Valerie, the miniature dachshund, had been on the run for over 500 days when she was finally caught in April, and now there’s a new documentary telling her story.
It all started as a local search for a missing pup, but quickly became an international obsession. “I got sick of phone calls. TV stations everywhere wanted to talk about Valerie,” recalled Kangaroo Island mayor Michael Pengilly. It is a fair question, how hard could it be to find a lost sausage dog? But the proof is in the pudding, and it was much harder than anyone could have imagined.
When owners Georgia Gardner and Joshua Fishlock first lost Valerie in late 2023, few believed she’d last more than a few days. “I remember standing there, and there were three eagles up in the sky, and I said to them, ‘I don’t know that your dog would have made it past them’,” shared local wildlife rescuer Jared Karran. But Valerie proved everyone wrong, escaping into the wilderness and surviving against all odds.
For Georgia and Joshua, the heartbreak of not knowing where she had ended up was huge. “We kind of went through all the five stages of grief,” said Georgia. “Not knowing what happened to her, where she was, that really was really, really hard.” In the end, they had to leave the island without their beloved pup.
Nearly 500 days later, Valerie reappeared, running through a paddock. The sighting was the talk of the town on Kangaroo Island and, within hours, the news had gone global. “We didn’t expect phone calls from the New York Times, and we had to keep reminding ourselves that she hadn’t been caught yet,” said Joshua.
Jared and his partner, Lisa, came up with an elaborate plan to capture Valerie safely, but there was huge pressure on them from the media. “There are literally millions of people watching this,” said Jared. “If we lose that dog, we are going to be the laughing stock of the world.”
The new documentary, ‘Dog Gone: The Hunt for Valerie’, tells the story of this extraordinary saga. Through interviews with Georgia, Joshua, Jared and the locals who rallied behind them, the film brings Valerie’s journey to life.
“It’s incredible how many hearts Valerie’s story has touched and the impact that she has made,” says Georgia.
Catch the doco on Monday, October 6th, at 8pm on ABC TV and ABC iview.
