| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Alee |
Posted - Apr 06 2009 : 08:04:49 AM
Dog overboard found four months later
Mon Apr 6, 4:21 am ET
SYDNEY (AFP) – A pet dog that fell overboard in rough seas off Australia has been reunited with its owners after surviving alone on an island for four months, reports said.
Sophie Tucker, apparently named after a late US entertainer, fell overboard as Jan Griffith and her family sailed through choppy waters off the northeast Queensland coast in November.
The dog was believed to have drowned and Griffith said the family was devastated.
But out of sight of the family, Sophie Tucker was swimming doggedly and finally made it to St Bees Island, five nautical miles away, and began the sort of life popularised by the TV reality show "Survivor."
She was returned to her family last week when Griffith contacted rangers who had captured a dog that had been living off feral goats on the largely uninhabited island, in the faint hope it might be their long-lost pet.
When the Griffiths met the rangers' boat bringing the dog to the mainland they found that it was indeed Sophie Tucker on board.
"We called the dog and she started whimpering and banging the cage and they let her out and she just about flattened us," Griffith told the national AAP news agency.
"She wriggled around like a mad thing."
Griffith said that when the dog was first spotted on the island she had been in poor condition.
"And then all of a sudden she started to look good and it was when the rangers had found baby goat carcasses so she'd started eating baby goats," she said.
Sophie Tucker, a member of the Australian cattle dog breed, had been quick to readjust to the comforts of home, complete with airconditioning, Griffiths said.
"She surprised us all. She was a house dog and look what she's done, she's swum over five nautical miles, she's managed to live off the land all on her own," Griffiths said.
"We wish she could talk, we truly do."
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Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
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| 8 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| twzlrwho |
Posted - Apr 10 2009 : 12:35:40 PM
This is a great story! My dogs would only survive if the island was full of chickens! LOL I am very happy for the family. I know they are very thankful.
 Christina
Work like you don't have to, love like you've never been hurt, and dance like nobody is watching :) |
| StarMeadow |
Posted - Apr 10 2009 : 09:45:22 AM
Wow! Very cool. I'm surprised she survived the ocean, let alone the island. I just saw some sharks up close at an aquarium and well...those are some very sharp teeth! |
| simone947 |
Posted - Apr 08 2009 : 5:30:34 PM
we have 2 australian cattle dogs and i think our female would do this she's so independent and the dingo definitely comes through in her, our male thinks he's people i don't think he would be able to live with out companionship. that family must be so grateful. |
| Alee |
Posted - Apr 07 2009 : 4:28:23 PM
I tried to imagine what my dog would do in that situation- I am so glad the dog is okay!
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
Please come visit Nora and me on our blog: www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
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| Lainey |
Posted - Apr 07 2009 : 12:07:03 PM
That is an amazing story with a very happy ending! I can only imagine how happy that family must be.
Farmgirl Sister #25
http://countrygirldreams.blogspot.com/
An Angel says, 'Never borrow from the future. If you worry about what may happen tomorrow and it doesn't happen, you have worried in vain. Even if it does happen, you have to worry twice.' |
| acairnsmom |
Posted - Apr 07 2009 : 11:12:50 AM
I just read this story on the internet not 1/2 hour ago. What an amazing story! The internet story said the Rangers thought they had a wild dog on their hands. My heart melted when they said the vicious wild dog started to whimper and cry when the owners showed up. I love happy endings!
Audrey
Toto, we're not in Kansas any more! |
| Alee |
Posted - Apr 06 2009 : 10:45:58 AM
Can you imagine? I would be so heart broken and then overjoyed that my dog was still alive! I am so glad that dog was able to catch some food! I don't know that my dog would make it- she just isn't that fast of a runner! She would have to find an animal that had already died or mice. She is a really good mouser!
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
Please come visit Nora and me on our blog: www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
Put your pin on the farmgirl map! www.farmgirlmap.blogspot.com |
| peachy |
Posted - Apr 06 2009 : 09:24:02 AM
What a sweet story Alee! What a brave dog!!!
Melissa
Farmgirl Sister #360
http://oldethymecountrybarn.blogspot.com/
Life isn't about waiting for the storms to pass...it's about learning to dance in the rain! |
