Dog Living In Junkyard Had No Idea His Owner Was Still Looking For Him

For more than a year, they fed the solitary dog who was frequently spotted in a Georgia scrapyard.

The dog was nearly impossible to catch, so Kera Bagwell and Stephanie Sparks of Marietta contented themselves to leave him food twice a day.

USA TODAY / YouTube

USA TODAY / YouTube

Little did the women know, the drifter dog had a family. He was missed terribly.

And his name was Bear.

Kelly Thomas and Ted Kupferman lost Bear in 2013, according to a report from Atlanta-based 11Alive News. Bear, a rescue dog, was startled after being involved in a car accident. He bolted into the woods. And despite hours and days of searching and calling his name, Bear didn't come home.

"I spent 12 hours that day and evening, searching for him, calling his name, combing the area," Kupferman told USA Today, "And could find absolutely nothing."

USA TODAY / YouTube

USA TODAY / YouTube

He never gave up looking.

Meanwhile, after 13 months of feeding their mystery dog, Bagwell and Sparks - with the help of a homemade pen - managed to capture him.

His microchip unravelled the mystery.

And assured Bear a happy ending.

"I'm still crying over it," Kupferman told the news station. "This was not just a dog. This was my best friend. This was my child."

This video, posted to YouTube last November, captures that powerful reunion nearly two years in the making:

click to play video

Yes, this is another feel-good microchipping story. If you haven't had your pet chipped yet, here's everything you need to know.