Safe Back Home, The Castaway Canine That Never Gave Up

[G_j]

(I needed a change of pace...)

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article6047557.ece

April 7, 2009
Safe back home, the castaway canine that never gave up

Jack Malvern and Anne Barrowclough

When Jan Griffith’s much-loved dog, Sophie Tucker, was washed overboard in stormy seas as the family were cruising on their yacht off the East Coast of Australia, she believed that her pet had drowned.

Despite a frantic search there was no sign of the animal and Mrs Griffiths and her husband, Dave, resigned themselves to never seeing their dog again. Their children bought their parents a new pet — a red cattle dog named Ruby — and life slowly got back to normal.

Unknown to her owners, Sophie Tucker, a grey-and-black cattle dog, was not a quitter. It seems that the determined pet swam five nautical miles through shark-infested seas to an island, where she survived for more than four months by eating wild goats.

The story of the canine Robinson Crusoe came to light after park rangers heard reports that a cattle dog had been sighted on St Bees Island, a nature reserve off northeast Queensland renowned for its koalas.

Faced with starvation, the dog reverted to her wild instincts and began hunting and eating feral goats that roam the largely uninhabited island. Reports from the rangers, who believed Sophie to be a wild dog, suggested that she had lost a lot of weight in her first few weeks as a castaway but soon began to look fit and healthy. The carcasses of baby goats were discovered soon afterwards.
.

...more..

[CatWoman]

1. yayyyy!!!!

Sophie!!!!!!

[Myrina]

2. This is so cool! I LOVE Cattle Dogs!!!

:applause: :applause:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. This is amazing...

How good that she managed to survive all those dangers...

And get returned to her family!

Thank you for this. There's so much terrible news that it's truly wonderful to hear something this good...

K&R

:hi:

[ColbertWatcher]

4. Wow.

Here's a map, showing where St. Bees Island is in relation to where the mainland is.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Saint+Bees+Island,+Australia&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=30.819956,53.876953&ie=UTF8&ll=-20.906286,149.443245&spn=1.134041,1.683655&t=h&z=9

Good dog.

[G_j]

6. wow is right!

thank you

:hi:

[emilyg]

5. What a dog!

[Liberal_in_LA]

7. Poor wild goat babies.

sorry... had to say it. :-) Glad the dogs okay though.

[chatnoir]

11. No sorry. Was about to post same

then saw yours. Poor wild goat babies...

But glad Sophie made it back home.

[GoCubsGo]

14. This probably won't make you feel much better, but...

Those weren't "wild" goat babies. They were feral goat babies. The goats are not native to the island. They get culled anyway, because like all goats, they can do terrible damage to the native plant life, which can, in turn, affect the native wildlife. Sad for the baby goats, but Sophie Tucker did the native flora and fauna a favor. I know that sounds harsh, but such is life.

[Fire1]

8. Happy you're home, Sophie!!!

:-)

[xchrom]

9. Good Dog Sophie. nt

[williesgirl]

10. What a great article. Thanks for posting. rec'd

[opihimoimoi]

12. If only "Wilson" was in the story....K&R :o)

[G_j]

13. **

[GoCubsGo]

15. She reminds me of an old dog friend

His name was Clint Eastwood, and he belonged to my former supervisor. Her husband named him that, because he was a fan of the actor. Said husband later referred to him as "the Asshole". Clint, like most cattle dogs, was too smart for his own good, and used to get into lots of mischief. He also didn't get along with their German Shepherd, and that was another reason he earned that nickname. But, Clint was also a bit hard-headed, and very stupid on one way: He liked chasing car and truck tires. And, one day, he wound up underneath one of them. I still miss him, even if he wasn't my dog.

[truedelphi]

18. Sorry about the sad end of Clint

The mischievious pets sometimes don't live long, but are certainly a joy to have for however long you are allowed to have them

We rescue the feral cats that show up at out door. They like to sleep inside when weather is bad, but they cannot be stopped from going out.

The red cat's favorite game is to run really fast up the side of the hill, then run forty to fifty feet up the side of the redwood. Then at a certain point, his claws loose their grip and he free falls to the earth. Ker-plunck. And no, he doesn;t land on his feet.

Which stops him from this activity for about two minutes!

[XemaSab]

16. Baby dingoes!

:loveya:

[glinda]

17. I still would like to know why the owners put her in danger. They should be warned and fined.

But other than that....:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

[rvablue]

22. I'd like to think her owner's have learned their lesson and next time Sophie goes

sailing she'll be sporting one of these:

[malaise]

19. Video here

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7987863.stm

Just lovely!

[MoonRiver]

20. You go girl, Sophie Tucker!!

Dogs rock! :loveya:

[depakid]

21. Sophie Tucker is one tough pooch (kinda cute, too)

Sophie ... learned to live wild after swimming to island.
--------

Check out the islands where she hung out after her epic swim:

http://www.koalaresearch.net.au/StBees.html

http://www.keswickisland.com.au/

[Raine]

23. WOW, great ending

I feel sorry for the goats but it was survival of the fittest...Cheers to Sophie. :bounce: