WATCH: ‘Stolen’ Massachusetts Dog Reunited with Owner After 11 Years

A Massachusetts dog, whose owner said it was stolen 11-years-ago, was found on the loose some 20 miles away Wednesday and was reunited with its family.

Boston woman Marzena Niejadlik told WBZ that she purchased her little Yorkshire Terrier named Rex in 2011 after the unexpected passing of her brother.

“We were all devastated, and I was thinking a dog would bring some cure to my family, especially my mom,” she explained to the outlet. “I gave him to her for her birthday and unfortunately, he was stolen a few months later, so that was another tragedy.”

“He snuck out between the legs when someone was leaving the house for a moment and we had a witness that someone pulled over and took him from the street,” she added. 

For months they put up fliers in their search for Rex, offered a reward, and filed a police report, but their efforts were unsuccessful, WBZ noted. 

On Wednesday, Animal Control in Stoughton, MA – about 21 miles south of Boston – received a report of a Yorkie loose on Record Street, the Stoughton Police Department (SPD) said in a Facebook release. Animal Control officer Michelle Carlos responded to the scene and recovered the pooch. He had been neglected, so Carlos cleaned him up with a bath and gave him food and water before checking for a microchip.

The microchip showed the pup was 12-year-old Rex and that he belonged to Niejadlik, so Carlos gave her a call, the SPD said. In utter shock, Niejadlik explained to the SPD that Rex had been stolen over a decade ago and shared the circumstances surrounding her brother. She hurried down to the SPD, where she and Rex were finally reunited.

“This has never happened for me, so it was amazing,” Carlos told WCVB. 

Niejadlik brought tiny Rex home and introduced him to her children, and they hit it off famously, the SPD said.

“He was treated to a day of beauty and all is right in [sic] world,” the SPD stated.

The SPD, which called the outcome a “Hollywood ending” in a tweet, noted that microchipping pets is crucial and can lead to reunifications like the one between Rex and Niejadlik.

“We were really hoping one day it would happen and finally it did, we had to wait a lot, but it’s amazing,” Marzena told WBZ.