Castaway

Sophie with her owner Jan - Image from Times Online

I must say dogs do have some sense of loyalty and more than anything grit. Sophie Tucker, an Australian cattle dog, was happily enjoying a holiday on the sea when calamity struck. She and her owners Jan and Dave Griffith got caught in a storm off Queensland, Australia and Sophie was tipped overboard. She was presumed to have drowned and her owners were flooded with grief.

But unknown to them Sophie survived and swam five to six miles before she was washed ashore on a sparsely inhabited St Bees Island. She survived there on a diet of baby goats until rangers, who patrol the island, spotted her. They thought she was a wild dog and captured her but soon they were contacted by the Griffiths who got the news that a cattle dog had been captured. They soon had an emotional reunion with Sophie who had become quiet violent and had begun to refuse food. But now Sophie, named after a famous American vaudeville star, is happy to be back at home where she has adjusted well to her creature comforts.

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Watch a video of Sophie