A dog runs along the beach after sunset in Cardiff, California December 5, 2007. REUTERS/Mike Blake

SYDNEY (Reuters) - A flea-bitten dog rescued from a squalid backyard is to be reunited with her owners 1,000 miles away -- nine years after she disappeared.

The dog, Muffy, was found sleeping on a tattered piece of cardboard in a backyard in Melbourne with a bad skin condition and matted coat by the RSPCA after an anonymous call.

RSPCA Victoria spokesman Tim Pilgrim said Muffy was found to have been microchipped which did not fit at all with the circumstances so they decided to try to track down the dog’s owners whom they found in Brisbane.

“It’s amazing that the original owners had microchipped her as it wasn’t that common nine years ago and it is amazing that she had come 2,000 km from home,” Pilgrim told Reuters.

“We are advising people to get their pets microchipped so we can have some more happy endings like this one.”

He said Muffy was believed to have been at that house in Melbourne for about one year after being found as a stray but no one knew where she had been for the previous eight years.

Muffy will be flown home to Brisbane next week to be reunited with her owners who were delighted to hear that their lost pet had finally been found.