ADELAIDE: A pet dog that disappeared into the Australian wilderness was finally found seven weeks later, having lost half his weight, but none the worst for wear.
Maltese cross Einstein took off into the South Australian bushland on Sept 18 while on holiday with his owners, Jeff Johns and Sue Johns, while they were walking at Anstey Hill Recreation Park near the state capital of Adelaide.
Despite trying to look for the 12-year-old pooch and posting on Facebook groups for missing pets, they had no success in finding him.
“I had thought he may have been got by a snake, or may not have been able to survive that long,” Johns told 9News Australia.
Imagine their surprise and happiness when they received news that their beloved dog had been found by a local family on Nov 11.
The family had recognised the dog from missing dog posters pasted near the park.
Einstein was immediately rushed to a veterinary hospital, where his identity was confirmed after a scan of his microchip.
“In a lifetime of being a veterinarian, I’ve never experienced an animal go missing and be in the wild for this long and then be found,” Dr Mark Reeve from Tea Tree Gully veterinary hospital told 9News.
When Einstein was found, he weighed just 4.6kg, having lost almost 50 per cent of his body weight during his time away.
He was also severely malnourished and had developed corneal ulcers in his left eye, along with a mild non-regenerative anaemia, according to a Nov 12 Facebook post by the hospital.
“Fortunately, he was only mildly dehydrated, suggesting he’d found access to water, but he was immediately placed on intravenous fluids to restore hydration and support his recovery,” the hospital added.
Mrs John said she burst into tears when she heard that Einstein had been found.
“We are still coming to terms with his return,” she told Australian breakfast television news and current affairs programme Today.
The couple said they will drive from their home in Cold Coast in Queensland to Adelaide to pick Einsein up, as soon as the vet gives the green light that the pooch is well enough to travel.
They also plan to visit and thank those who helped to look for and care for their dog.
Einstein’s miraculous survival is reminiscent of Valerie, a runaway sausage dog that went missing at South Australia’s Kangaroo Island and was finally caught after a 529-day adventure on the island teeming with kangaroos, possums, koalas and penguins. - The Straits Times/ANN
