Family dog went missing for 529 days. It was a worn T-shirt of her owner that finally brought her home

After going missing during a 2023 camping trip, a miniature dachshund named Valerie has been found alive and well — 529 days later — on Kangaroo Island, off the southern coast of Australia. Valerie was just three years old when her owners, Georgia Gardner and Joshua Fishlock, left her briefly in a playpen while they went fishing, as per the BBC. When they returned, she had disappeared. Despite being microchipped and wearing an Apple AirTag, days of coordinated searching on the island turned up nothing. Forced to return home without her, the couple continued hoping for signs of life until the owner's t-shirt brought her back.

In February 2025, a farmer spotted a small dog running through the fields and passed the photo to Kangala Wildlife Rescue. What followed was a months-long recovery operation involving cameras, traps, scent-based lures, and more than 1,000 hours of volunteer time. According to the nonprofit rescue team, the final breakthrough was a T-shirt worn by Valerie’s owner. "We were able to rip little strips off of it, and we started the process of just adding more and more bits towards the trap site as we went along," said Lisa Karran, co-director of Kangala, in a video statement on Facebook, reported CNN.

The method aligns with findings from a 2005 study published in Chemical Senses, which assessed how many footsteps a dog needs to detect the direction of an odor trail. In the experiment, six trained dogs followed a 21-foot step trail laid on individual carpet squares. The dogs correctly identified the trail’s direction significantly above chance, even when airborne scent cues were eliminated. 

Karran later wore the T-shirt while sitting near the trap and waited with Valerie until she was calm. "She came up, would sniff us, and we’d just go by her cues, until she was completely calm and snuggled up in our laps. It was amazing," she said. The trap used was equipped with a remote-control door system to prevent premature closure. Rescuers had to be certain Valerie was far enough inside and relaxed before triggering the mechanism.

"She went right into the back corner, which is where we wanted her. I pressed the button and thankfully it all worked perfectly," said Jared Karran, another team member. In the early days of her disappearance, Valerie was briefly spotted hiding under a parked car but was startled and fled into thick undergrowth. With no further sightings, many feared she might have succumbed to extreme heat, venomous snakes, or predators like the large Rosenberg’s goanna. "One of the reasons this is such a difficult rescue and not as easy as just baiting and setting traps, is due to the fact that we are constantly competing with hundreds of wildlife like possums, wallabies, kangaroos, goannas, and feral cats. All of which are just after a feed," Kangala Wildlife Rescue wrote on Facebook.

The team placed food boxes and cameras around a 5,000 km range and even called for public help. When bad weather disrupted their camera feeds, backup tech was requested to keep surveillance going. After being trapped, Valerie searched for a way out. "She actually went into her crate, the one that was set up to look like the one at home, and she went and had a sleep," said Jared Karran. Following her rescue, Valerie is said to be healthy and in recovery. "For anyone who's ever lost a pet, your feelings are valid, and never give up hope. Sometimes good things happen to good people," Gardner wrote on social media after the rescue.

If your pet is missing and you need help reuniting, please reach out to AKC Reunite at 1‑800‑252‑7894.