Dem
47
GOP
53
Normally, the "schadenfreude" and "freudenfreude" items are supposed to have some connection to politics, because this is a politics-centered site. However, the staff dachshunds said that if we did not cover the story we chose here, they would resign. So...
For those who have not seen the story, this is Valerie the dachshund:
As you can see, Valerie—like most dachshunds—was extremely spoiled, and was persuaded that she is human, and so entitled to all the privileges that entails.
Close to 2 years ago, Valerie traveled with her family on a camping trip on Kangaroo Island in Australia, which is quite far removed from civilization, and is very well populated with dangerous animals. During the trip, Valerie—then just over a year old—escaped her playpen and disappeared into the wilderness. Her parents Georgia Gardner and Josh Fishlock, who are actually human as opposed to just thinking they are human, looked for her for several days, but without success. Eventually, they had to give up the search and return home. Given that a sizable majority of the dangerous animals on the island are snakes, they had to assume the worst, especially since local authorities, who promised to keep a lookout, saw no sign of the dog.
Actually, to be more precise, they saw no sign of the dog... until well more than a year had passed. Early this year, a small dachshund with a pink collar was spotted about 9 miles from the spot where Valerie went missing. As you can imagine, the island does not have a population of wild dachshunds, and the collar Valerie was wearing just so happened to be pink. It is not known, nor will it ever be known, how she managed to survive during that time, both in terms of feeding herself and also not becoming food for one of the local animal inhabitants.
When a dog is in survival mode, and has reverted to its ancestral instincts, it is no small feat to capture them. It is even harder to do it in a way that does not traumatize the pooch. But, as chance would have it, a specialist group called Kangala Wildlife Rescue is headquartered nearby, and they were willing to take on the challenge. And so, they created a humane dog trap—effectively, a room-sized cage with a door that could be closed remotely. And they used tempting foods and Valerie's old toys to persuade her to visit the trap and to become comfortable with it (the door was not closed until after she had made numerous visits over the course of several weeks). She was finally captured earlier this week, and will be reunited with mom and dad over the weekend. And so, all's well that ends well.
Have a good weekend, all! (Z)