— After seven years apart, a Raleigh dog has been reunited with his owner.

Dan Kesler was living in Raleigh when he lost his dog, B.A. The doberman was spooked by a thunderstorm and ran away.

"The first night I spent outside waiting for him to come back," Kesler said.

Years went by and Kesler eventually moved to Phoenix. Recently, he received a phone call letting him know that B.A. had been found in Durham.

The reunion was made possible after B.A. was brought into the Animal Protection Society's shelter in Durham last month.

"He was favoring one of his legs, and our veterinarian thought he may have been in an accident," APS shelter director Shafonda Davis said.

Workers found a microchip, a device placed under the skin to help identify animals, on the dog. They used the information to find out the dog's name and get the information on the dog's owner.

After being unable to reach Kesler, the shelter called the second contact number for the dog – Kesler's friend, Steve House.

"This is a miracle," House said.

"Did I think I would get him back? I can't say 'yes,' but I never gave up hope," Kesler said.

BA was flown out to Arizona to be reunited with Kesler. The two wasted no time catching up.

"There were little commands that he knew were me, that he remembered and picked up on," Kesler said.

The reunion was a first for Davis.

"There was some angel watching after this dog for seven years," she said.

When the dog came into the Animal Protection Society in Durham, it was injured. It appears someone had taken cared for the dog on some level while it was missing.

