An Arizona man was reunited with his lost dog after a painstaking eight-year separation while on his way to provide relief for wildfire victims in California.
Paul Guilbeault’s miniature pinscher Damian went missing in 2017 while the local photographer and his family were in the middle of a cross-country move from Massachusetts to Arizona, according to AZ Central.
The family had made a brief pit stop near Oklahoma City when the pup slipped out of his leash and bolted. They stayed in the area for a full week to search for Damian but never found him.
“He either got fed up with being scolded or scared, and he just ran away. He started running down the service road, and I couldn’t catch him,” Guilbeault told the local outlet.
Eventually, Guilbeault’s father called off the search, but they never gave up. Guilbeault believed that Damian would find his way home and posted about his lost dog on social media for years in the hope that someone had found him.
Eight years later, Donna Bentley nearly hit Damian with her car after he darted across the road straight into traffic in Oklahoma City.
“He turned to me when I picked him up. He was screaming and tried to bite me, but I wasn’t going to put him down and let him get run over,” Bentley told ABC15 KNXV.
Bentley’s brother Rick Chambers brought Damian to a vet.
The now 13-year-old dog was a bit underweight and had overgrown nails, but was overall in good health.
The vet also scanned the pooch’s microchip — which listed Guilbeault’s contact info.
Guilbeault had been on his way to Los Angeles with boxes full of clothes to donate to the wildfire relief efforts when his Apple Watch pinged with the call that Damian was finally found.
A quick 14 hours later, Guilbeault was reunited with his old pal in Oklahoma City.
“Not until when I got in front of him that I realized how much of an old man he had become,” Guilbeault told the outlet.
Despite the many years that had flown by, Damian recognized his owner and old home immediately.
“When we go there, he gets such a smile on his face. Like, ‘I know where we’re at. I finally made it home,’” said Guilbeault.
