(CNN) — In dog years, it's a reunion that took more than 50 years.
*Warning the following video contains material that some viewers might find disturbing, viewer discretion is advised*
In human years it was less... but still a long time by any measure.
A Lee County love story eight years and five months in the making - Betsy DeHaan's dog has been missing since 2014.
"I just want to tell him I'm so sorry I didn't find him."
Let's rewind- it's February of 2014.
When Harley... a lovable, adventurous pitbull... got a little too adventurous.
"I turned them out to go to the bathroom and turned my back for a second and they went off into the woods," DeHaan said.
"And we went looking and never found Harley."
At just a few years old... Harley vanished from his Lee County home.
"We searched and cruised and looked and put up posters and sent out the "Wanted missing pet" and just never stopped looking for him," DeHaan said.
Even though he was microchipped... the search went cold.
Whoever took Harley in, never checked the microchip to find his owner.
"I didn't realize how bad it was until I actually got the dog," Angie Bray said, the woman responsible for finding the dog.
Fast forward to the present day.
A miracle truly kept the love story alive.
"The dog was so sweet, super well behaved," Bray said.
"Seemed as happy as can be,
"Aside from being really skinny,
"He had some really overgrown nails."
Angie and her friend found a dog that looked like Harley - wandering along Barto Boulevard in San Carlos Park.
However, they found the dog malnourished... almost nothing... but skin and bones.
"It made me cry," Angie said.
"It was just so heartbreaking to think about being torn away from when my animals were I just love and then being able to find them."
Angie took Harley to Cypress Lake Animal Hospital and Lee County Domestic Animal Services.
And through the microchip... Angie found Betsy's number --
"We got the text on Saturday," Betsy said.
"And I'm like, is this a scam?
"Because we were talking about him that morning,
" You know, what an amazing dog and where could hardly be?
"Is he still out there,
"And I got the text,
"And you know, you think google always picks up on your advertisement?
"Haha, I'm like, this is a scam. This is not real!"
Betsy no longer lives in Lee County -- but when she found out Harley was safe - she drove one-thousand, one hundred miles.
All the way from Missouri... to Lee County.
"I have not seen him yet," Betsy said.
"I'm just it's killing me"
Then, the moment finally arrived...
"Oh my god!!! Harley!!! Hi buddy!!! Oh my god!!!!"
