MELBOURNE (AFP) - - A young Australian Friday held an emotional TV reunion with her dog Muffy, who went missing nine years ago before reappearing filthy and flea-bitten 2,000 kilometres (1,250 miles) away.
Chloe Rushby, now 17, who was given the mongrel on her eighth birthday, stroked and hugged the white-haired Muffy in a meeting shown live by Channel 10's satirical "The 7pm Project."
"Hey Muffy, hey girl," Rushby said, before admitting she was overcome with emotion. "I'm shaking," she added.
Rushby was flown from the eastern Gold Coast region to Melbourne by Channel 10 after Muffy's astonishing reappearance in an unkempt suburban back yard, where she was sleeping on a piece of cardboard.
The teenager's mother Natalie Lampard said that before the disappearance, her daughter and the dog were "pretty much inseparable."
"Just how she got down to Melbourne I guess is a mystery that will never be answered, but she won't be sleeping out in the yard in the middle of winter ever again," Lampard said.
The dog, who was identified by an embedded microchip, was set to be flown back to the eastern Gold Coast in air-conditioned luxury courtesy of specialist transport service Jet Pets.
Muffy will receive her own pet travel consultant, enjoy door-to-door transfers and the comforts of a luxury kennel and doggy transit lounge, all free of charge.
"They are big supporters of the RSPCA and they donated the flights," the RSPCA spokesman said. "For Muffy, they are more than happy to do it."
