Sophie Tucker, not the singer but an Australian cattle dog, fell overboard while on a family boating excursion along the northeast Queensland coast of Austrailia in November. She was presumed drowned and her family was heartbroken. However, Sophie was better at the doggie paddle than anyone suspected. In rough seas, she swam five miles to the sparsely populated St. Bee’s Island. There she began her “Survivor” style life, catching wild game to get by.
Last week rangers spotted what they believed to be a wild dog. Friends of Sophie’s owner, Jan Griffith, learned of the sighting and encouraged Jan to contact the rangers on the slight chance that it might just be their beloved castaway. A few days ago they were joyfully reunited. According to The Sydney Morning Herald Jan said, “We called the dog and she started whimpering and banging the cage and they let her out and she just about flattened us,” Ms Griffith said.
“She wriggled around like a mad thing.”
Everyone was astounded at how healthy their domesticated dog looked after living the ‘wild dog’ life. However, Jan reports that Sophie easily adjusted to her more civilized life, complete with air conditioning.
Photo courtesy of The Sidney Morning Herald.
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