Robert Weber’s dog Nessie was found on the same property where her owner was discovered last week. (Supplied: Tony Perrett)
The dog belonging to Robert Weber, who survived being lost in bushland at Kilkivan in Queensland’s Gympie region for 18 days, has been found.
Local MP and property owner Tony Perrett found the 58-year-old Narangba man sitting underneath a tree on his property on January 24, after he disappeared while on the way home from the Kilkivan pub.
Mr Perrett discovered the missing dog, Nessie, on his property on Sunday.
“Through very, very good fortune the dog actually wandered into the house and the property,” Mr Perrett said.
“We’d been keeping an eye out for the dog, thinking that we’d find it somewhere but it eluded us over that that period.”
The Bull Arab cross had been missing since January 6 and has lost a “significant” amount of weight but was otherwise OK.
“No doubt it would have found a few things to eat, but certainly dropped some weight, but still quite well and strong,” Mr Perrett said.
He was able to deliver the good news to Mr Weber over the phone.
“He was elated,” Mr Perrett said.
“Like everyone, he thought he’d never see the dog again but when I was able to make contact with him yesterday, he was most pleased that the dog had been found.”
Mr Perrett said Nessie was being cared for until she was able to be reunited with Mr Weber in the next couple of days.
“We’re hoping that we can get it reunited with Robert very, very shortly,” Mr Perrett said.
“But at the moment it’s just being cared for and is in much better surrounds than it has been the last three weeks.”
Mr Perrett said the whole event was extraordinary, after he and wife Michele found Mr Weber beside a dam where he had been living for nearly two weeks.
He became lost after getting his car bogged on the Tansey property and told his rescuers he had eaten wild mushrooms and drank dam water to survive.
“We didn’t know that he was in there for a week or so until we were mustering a paddock on the western side of our property,” Mr Perrett said
“Quite fortunate that we found Robert of course that was always the main effort.
“But to now find the dog just really tops it off — good result all round.”
This article first appeared on ABC Queensland.
