They say a dog is a man's (or woman's!) best friend. They also say distance makes the heart grow fonder. For North Carolina dog mom, both of these cliches were proven to be true after a reunion with a furry friend that went missing four and a half years ago.
Shiny, a nine-year-old Pitt Bull, spent the majority of his life living with Michelle Davis in North Carolina.
Four and a half years ago, he went missing. Davis had no idea where Shiny ran off to or if she would ever see him again.
But, she knew she had him micro-chipped in case of a situation like would happen.
This week, Shiny was found in a small town in Northern California - more than 2,000 miles away from home.
He was found as a stray and taken to the dog warden, who then brought him into Mendocino County Animal Shelter. During his intake to the shelter, Shiny's microchip was scanned - and that's when Shiny's cross-county journey home began.
After receiving his information from the microchip company, the shelter contacted Davis - who was thrilled to hear that, after four years, someone had found her furry friend.
The shelter began putting out calls for drivers, in need of someone to get Shiny home.
Karen Schaver, who operates Orphan Dog Rescue in California, saw the post and volunteered to be Shiny's transportation back to his owners.
"I have a really good working relationship with the shelter, and I was driving to the East Coast anyway, so I volunteered," Schaver said. "The workers came in on a holiday weekend to do the paperwork and get the process going."
While driving to Boston, Schaver and Davis coordinated the best meeting spot to deliver Shiny.
The two women met in Macedonia, Ohio. Shiny spent three days in the car with Schaver and, after meeting in Ohio, has another day-long trip back to his home.
A reunion more than four years in the making, made possible by a microchip.
