PORT ST. JOHN, Fla. – A Orlando-area family's dog is back home after 16 days of waiting and worrying.

Paul Chinaris told News 6 his 5-year-old border collie named Kypris dug a hole under their backyard fence after she got spooked by fireworks on New Year's Eve.

He said he put up a post on a neighborhood group in Port St. John, telling his neighbors, "fireworks freaked out my dog."

"We got a lot of sightings, about a dozen that I went out on," Chinaris said. "They weren't her, but people were looking."

He said because of the Facebook post and signs he had put up around town, hundreds of people eventually joined the search. He said one man even used a drone to search for Kyrpis by air.

Then, 16 days later -- a sighting that changed everything.

Orlando Utilities Commission workers Robbie Southwell and Trey Farris said they spotted a collie at the Indian River power plant on U.S. 1, and they recognized her from social media.

"It was probably the dog," Southwell said.

"When we got close enough to confirm it was her, I called my wife and said, 'Call the guy, and tell him to get here,'" Farris said.

"I zoomed down from work -- I'm about 10 minutes away -- I came down, and sure enough, it was her," said Chinaris. "The two guys -- Trey and Robert, great guys -- they had been corralling her."

Now, Kypris is back playing catch with her family, and her family is thanking their neighbors for getting results.

"I am a Rotarian," Chinaris said, "and our motto is 'service about self.' I saw that come out in this community, and it was really nice."