Dog Missing For Two Years Thrilled To Be Reunited With Tearful Owners

A dog who'd been missing for two years had an emotional reunion with his owners -- just in time for Thanksgiving.

Georgia couple Kelly Thomas and Ted Kupferman wept uncontrollably in footage posted online as their excited rescue pooch called Bear ran into their arms Sunday.

They had last seen him in July 2013 after Kupferman was involved in a car crash in Hiram, Georgia, and the scared dog fled into nearby woods , reports WXIA.

The couple were distraught, and Kupferman told the station he spent 12 hours that day alone combing the area desperately trying to track down his pet. Days, weeks and months went by -- but they never lost hope of finding Bear.

Unbeknownst to them, their dog was holed up in an auto parts yard in the nearby city of Marietta, some 16 miles away, according to Yahoo News.

Stephanie Burke Sparks and Kera Bagwell, from the locality, spotted the dog -- who they called Cornbread -- and unsuccessfully tried to catch him for more than a year by leaving out food, according to several Facebook posts by Sparks.

"We could not get him close to us , but we knew he wanted to eat, he was pretty thin and so we started going out there everyday and taking rotisserie chicken," Sparks, who later uploaded several clips of the rescue to YouTube and Facebook, told FOX 5 Atlanta.

The missing pup was finally retrieved with the help of local rescue groups on Sunday, according to MSN.  And when Bear's microchip was scanned, his owners were identified and the reunion was arranged for the following day. 

Kupferman said he was thrilled that Bear was back in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

"I'm still crying over it. This was not just a dog, this was my best friend; this was my child," he told WXIA.

Thomas said she was forever indebted to Sparks and Bagwell.

"They brought my baby home and not only did they bring him home they took care of him, they adjusted their schedules to take care of him," she told Fox 5 Atlanta, adding, "You do not see that kind of selflessness in people that often these days."

Also on HuffPost: