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New footage of Valerie the miniature dachshund, missing since 2023, shows her sniffing around a trap and capering with a food box.
But more than 500 days since she escaped from a pen on Kangaroo Island in South Australia, Valerie is still at large.
Kangala Wildlife Rescue, which is leading the search, says the disruption of other wildlife and the need to tread carefully around Valerie have made trapping her difficult. However, new technology will soon be used that could end the tale that has captured global attention.
In November 2023, New South Wales couple Georgia Gardner and Josh Fishlock were visiting the enormous rugged island south-west of Adelaide. They secured Valerie in a pen, but she escaped and fled. The search for her was eventually abandoned.
Then, in March this year, there were reported sightings of the tiny 4kg dog.
Some are concerned about the impact of a dog on the island, which is home to abundant native animals – many of them threatened. Others have wondered if Valerie may now be feral.
Experts have said she may be surviving on roadkill or the faeces of other animals, or that she may be eating the native animals themselves.
But there is also hope that Valerie will be happily reunited with her family.
Kangala is using webcams connected to 4G to spot the dog, and set up a trap for her with some of her favourite treats.
On Tuesday morning, the group posted a video of Valerie playing with a food box they had left out to tempt her out of hiding, tail wagging. Kangala wrote in the Facebook post that it was “such a joy to see her playing and trying to get it open”.
They added that while she didn’t get into the box, she found some of the food the team had hidden in the area.
“Roast chicken seems to be everyone’s favourite,” the post said, noting other animals were also being drawn to the snacks.
A second video, posted on Wednesday, showed Valerie inside a cage at the team’s “trap site”, sniffing around various objects.
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Kangala said the dog was turning up to the site regularly and becoming “confident” walking in – although she “disappears” for five or six days between visits.
The trap was “set up like her own little room with her toys and bed from home, mum’s clothing, hidden food and challenges to keep her entertained”, Kangala said.
“We have seen an amazing change in Valerie’s demeanour recently as she begins to remember all those familiar smells, tastes and sounds.”
Kangala said that while normally a dog would trigger the trap itself, or it would be manually triggered by someone hiding nearby, the combination of island wildlife also entering the trap and the sporadic nature of Valerie’s visits had made her recapture difficult.
They had been working on a remote trigger system using the mobile phone network, Kangala said, with the final part “due to arrive this week”.
“We are happy to report that after a few tests and modifications it looks like we have a system that will work,” Kangala said on Facebook.
