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Missing pet dog reunited with Vic owner

Missing pet dog reunited with Vic owner

A pet dog missing for months after escaping a car accident that nearly claimed his owner's life has turned up in western Victoria.

Mick the Dachshund spent almost 155 days living rough in the wild, but quite how he managed to survive remains a mystery.

The four-year-old pooch and his owner, Neil Hallam, escaped a horror head-on smash near Lismore last December.

The driver of an oncoming car had a heart attack at the wheel. Both he and his wife were killed.

Neil was revived at the scene and airlifted to hospital with ten broken ribs.

Neil's beloved Border Collie was killed in the accident, and Mick was taken to a nearby veterinary clinic for a check-up.

"Mick apparently bit one of the vets and then took off out the door and disappeared across the Princes Highway," Neil said.


After weeks of searching, an online campaign helped track down the wandering pooch in a paddock - just two kilometres from where he had escaped.

Camperdown locals were at a loss to know where Mick had found water during his time in the wild.

In 43 degree heat, lakes had dried up and on six centimtre legs, Mick could not reach the cattle troughs.

"I suppose he was living on road kill," Neil said.

Apart from a missing claw, Mick is in great shape.

"Whether he would have survived the winter, I don't know," Neil said.

The pooch is just happy to be at home where the heart is.