It’s been eight months since Sharalyn Cooper has seen Fadidle, her 2-year-old miniature Pinscher, but on Saturday, she held the tiny animal, with its “bat ears” quivering, to her chest and cried.

The two were reunited at Utah’s Salt Lake International Airport after the dog turned up in San Diego, California.

“It’s wonderful,” she said, smiling though her eyes were full of tears.

The slight creature ran off from Cooper’s Salt Lake home last October. Cooper said that wasn’t unusual. Most often, she’d find Fadidle running around with some neighborhood kids down the street, but this time her 1-year-old puppy was gone.

After a couple of months of scouring the neighborhood, posting fliers and diligently checking animal shelters throughout Utah, Cooper all but gave up hope.

Then seven months after the dog disappeared, a call came from the San Diego California Humane Society letting them know they had found Fadidle.

“I bawled and thanked them an awful lot,” Cooper said. “I couldn’t believe it. We done so much to get her back and hadn’t found her.”

Athena Davis, an employee at the humane society said the dog was brought to them by a “Good Samaritan” and was at first believed to be a stray. They placed the animal on a stray hold, but then discovered she had been implanted with a microchip that linked her to Cooper.

Davis said that the microchip made all the difference and recommended that everyone with a pet get one. In this case, it led to the “happy ending.”

The Coopers then wondered about what may have happened in the eight long months the dog was gone. It’s their belief that she was stolen.

“I’d love to hear what she has to say about this whole thing,” Sharalyn Cooper said as Fadidle rested her head on Cooper’s shoulder.

“She always used to do this,” Cooper said.

“She knows who her mom is,” Watkins added.

Story by Elaine Furst for Dog Files