Lost Dog Syndrome

Welcome to the Lost Dog Society...

Valerie the dachshund went missing on Kangaroo Island off the south coast of Australia in November of 2023, and didn’t make it back home again until late last month. That’s a year and half of survival in the wilderness for a sausage dog. Perhaps you heard about this remarkable story, and this brave little dog. It was her harrowing tale that introduced me to “lost dog syndrome,” of which I had never heard before.

The AI tells me that “lost dog syndrome refers to a set of behavioral changes that dogs may exhibit after becoming separated from their owners.” Those changes might include:

• Fear and Anxiety

• Confusion and Disorientation

• Lack of Trust

• Survival Instincts

• Changes in Appetite and Sleep.

Valerie was eventually rescued by people who had spotted her and set a trap. But they were cautious in their approach to the dog, and “refrained from snapping the trap shut the instant she was inside.” (Victor Mather in The NY Times, 4/28/25). They knew that after so much time being lost she would have to overcome her fear, anxiety, confusion, disorientation, and lack of trust, and to shift away from survival mode. So they gave her time, along with. T-shirt that had the scent of her owners on it, to help her re-acclimate and adjust to not being lost anymore. Lucky dog.

It’s a little painful to read a description of lost dog syndrome and find your own experience reflected in it. Am I alone in this regard? I very much doubt it. Have you had a relationship end, lost a job, been divorced, had your faith uprooted, experienced the death of a loved one, dealt with a terrifying diagnosis, been in an accident? Tick as many boxes as you like, or write in your own. Welcome to the Lost Dog Society; membership is free.

One of the remarkable aspects of the human condition is that we have the capacity to find ourselves when we are lost. Of course I am speaking figuratively. In fact, even when we get a lot of help being found (which we often need), when humans are lost, it is imperative that we engage in finding ourselves, otherwise we are apt to become stuck with the consequences of lost dog syndrome for a long, long time.

Right here is where it would be nifty if I could tell you a secret about how to find yourself when you are lost. I don’t think there is a secret. As in so many other challenges, however, we can look around and see how others have managed, and we can lean on them for their help. If it should happen to be a dachshund named Valerie that you look to for encouragement, then you will find me right there next to you. Here’s what I want to say about that: if Valerie can find her way out of the wilderness of Kangaroo Island, then you and I can find our way out of whatever wilderness we are lost in. And if Valerie could overcome her lost dog syndrome - her fear, anxiety, confusion, disorientation, lack of trust, and survival mode - then so can you and I.

The reasons we feel this way are real. Being lost truly does have this effect on us - ask Valerie the dachshund, she will tell you. Or ask me, I’ll tell you. But we will also tell you that just because once you were lost, you do not have to remain lost for ever.

If you are suffering from lost dog syndrome (or if ever you have) I am there with you. I have spent the last year and more dealing with it all, including the changes in sleep (though I never have lost my appetite).

After Valerie’s rescuers finally closed the trap door on her, their next step was to “enter the trap while she was inside.” I think this is a crucial step, and something that we members of the Lost Dog Society can do for one another. We can enter one another’s traps while we are still inside, while we are still dealing with the fear, anxiety, confusion, disorientation, and lack of trust, and we can help one another discover safe space again. And we can remind one another what it would feel like to not be lost anymore, and we can show one another the way. Lucky dogs.

Kermit and Felix have made a new young friend; they are teaching her how not to get lost.