Canine castaway on island for five months

Fairfax Media

CASTAWAY: Cattle dog Sophie Tucker was stranded on a Queensland Island for five months after being washed off her owners' boat.

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A canine castaway lost at sea five months ago has been reunited with her owners after washing up on an island off the central Queensland coast and living off goats and koalas.

Jan and Dave Griffith were devastated when their Australian cattle dog, Sophie Tucker, fell overboard in choppy waters off Mackay in late November, while the trio were on a boat trip to Scawfeld Island.

"We hit a rough patch and when we turned around the dog was gone," Ms Griffith said.

"We were able to back track to look for her, but because it was a grey day, we just couldn't find her and we searched for well over an hour.

"We thought that once she had hit the water she would have been gone because the wake from the boat was so big."

Unbeknown to the Griffiths, their hardy hound swam five nautical miles to St Bees Island, where she hunted wild baby goats and koalas.

The hardy pooch, named after the famous 20th century Vaudeville star, was last week reunited with her family after rangers captured what they believed was a wild dog.

Ms Griffith said she contacted Marine Parks and Wildlife after learning from friends that rangers had captured Sophie Tucker, who was by then infamous on the island.

"She was seen on St Bee's looking pretty poor and then all of a sudden she started to look good and that was when they discovered she was eating baby goats," Ms Griffith said.

"She had become quite wild and vicious. She wouldn't let anyone go near her or touch her. She wouldn't take food from anyone.

"There are many theories...some say she drifted with current first to Keswick Island where there is a small community, but that when people tried to approach her she ran away and then swan to St Bees where she lived off the island's population of wild goats.

The story has shocked experts.

RSPCA vet Vicki Lomax said Sophie Tucker's breed and her level of fitness had no doubt contributed to her survival.

"I've never heard anything like it, it's truly remarkable," Dr Lomax told brisbanetimes.com.au.

"Cattle dogs are probably the most suited type of dog to survive something like this, but it would have been a major ordeal for her.

"Five nautical miles is an incredibly big distance to swim for any type of dog and I dare say the current would have helped her along a bit, but is lucky she hasn't been taken by a shark.

"If this had been a Pomeranian, I don't think it would have been a happy ending - it's hair would probably have been too heavy."

Dr Lomax said pet dogs could turn feral and become aggressive very quickly as basic survival instincts kicked in, citing the example of Hurricane Katrina in the US, when many of the city's pets went wild and were left to starve.

"As soon as they see their owners, though, they return to normal behaviour."

Ms Griffith said Sophie Tucker had been quick to embrace her now easier existence - complete with air conditioning and a normal doggy diet.

"It's just like she's never been away. I put my sandshoes on and she goes and sits beside the lead," she said.

"It's just amazing."

- Brisbane times.com.au with AAP