missing

When Richard's german shepherd Dozer went missing from his backyard 18 months ago, he was understandably devastated. After looking for his "best buddy" for over a year he finally decided to adopt a new pup. When her went online to check his local shelter, the very first face that popped up was none other than his beloved Dozer.

It was the first post that came up, and Dozer was just staring me back in the face, looking pretty much like he did 18 months before. And my heart just kind of sank and I started shaking.

Richard's dad, who was near the shelter, stopped by to confirm that the dog was really Dozer via a trick Richard taught him.

One of the first things I taught him was to snap my fingers, and then he'll come around to my right side and wait for his second command.

So I asked dad to go in the cage. The lady was there, and I didn't say what he would do, I just said, 'Snap your fingers.'

Then I said, 'What did he do?' He said, 'He's sitting on my right-hand side looking straight up at me.'

The lady at Claresholm started crying, I started crying, and all the other people at the shelter were crying.

It was just amazing when he got home. As soon as he got on the block, dad said his tail started wagging, and as soon as he pulled into the driveway I opened the door and he just flew right in and buried his head in my armpit and just started whining like a baby.

He was never allowed to sleep on the bed, but he's been on the bed just about every single night since he's been home.

He's got lots of toys, gifts from everybody, so he's got more stuff than he knows what to do with.