What valiant Valerie can teach us loafers

A miniature dachshund named Valerie captured hearts worldwide after surviving 529 days in the rugged Australian wilderness of Kangaroo Island. Missing since November 2023, while her owners vacationed, Valerie evaded capture despite extensive searc...

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Last week, we hailed the spirit of tourists now opting to holiday in dangerous parts of the world under do-not-travel advisories from governments. Little did we know that little Valerie would beat humans paws down. So, while you were mesmerised by the bravery of those tourists scouring Libya and dodging AK47S, Valerie, a miniature dachshund, was out there living her best Mad Max fantasy-alone, wild, and slightly closer to the ground. The doggie roamed for 529 days across Australia's Kangaroo Island's rugged wilderness (it's 6x the size of Singapore and packed with snakes, eagles, and other critters), before the world's smallest outlaw was caught on Saturday. She went missing in November 2023 when her humans were holidaying at Stokes Bay. Volunteers spent over 1,000 hours and 5,000 kms chasing the dog roughly the size of a large baguette. Valerie, meanwhile, spent it dodging traps, giving cameras the slip, and almost certainly laughing in squeaky barks. And she did it in a pink collar, no less. Iconic.

People crave good news these days, and Valerie delivered it-wrapped in resilience, topped with giant flappy ears. Her grand return reminds us that you don't need opposable thumbs to go on an epic adventure. In short: humans, step up your game. Valerie just redefined 'holidaying off-grid'. And she didn't even need a #vanlife Instagram.

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