Experts ‘amazed’ at survival of Valerie the miniature dachshund – on the run on South Australian island for more than a year

500 years from now there will be dingo-dachshund hybrids dominating the Australian wildscape

I'm not actually terribly surprised.

Not that most people breed or use them for it these days, but dachshunds are, at their core, hunting dogs. Full-sized dachshunds were bred to hunt badgers, mini dachshunds for smaller animals like rabbits, they have short legs so they can chase animals into burrows, they have a strong sense of smell, and they're feisty, strong-willed little things.

Again, not to many people breed dachshunds for hunting instincts these days, but some of those traits still remain and once in a while you get one who could still make a capable hunting dog.

From a few minutes googling, it doesn't look like there's really any large predators to worry about on that island, and the climate is fairly mild.

I have a friend with a mini dachshund mix, we're not too sure of the exact mix, we think maybe there's jack Russell and Beagle in there (both pretty feisty breeds in their own right.) She's a cute, tiny little, vaguely-hound-looking, old lady dog with tiny legs. She's absolutely fearless, and despite never having any particular scent training, is a pretty capable tracker. When their other dog ran away and got lost, they just put her on a leash and she led them right to him. I have no trouble imagining her running around on an island, taking down some small critters, and living quite happily on her own for a few years if it came to it.

That's pretty hardcore

Look, the little gal is obviously happier out there in the wild, you spent a week trying to catch her in person and she wouldn't come back to you. Maybe just let her be?

The couple who lost their "princess."