Gary Rowley last saw his dog, Brindle, a few days before Super Bowl Sunday of 1999.
So it was quite a reunion on Sunday when the two finally were together again -- a decade after Brindle managed to open the door to Rowley’s home and disappeared into the Virginia night.
"For him to get out now, he's going to have to turn a knob and flip a dead bolt," Rowley said. "I'm still thinking about some of those child safety locks."
Brindle resurfaced in September, when a young girl found him in Oklahoma, more than 1,300 miles away from home. He was sick, but the girl and her family never gave up hope. They took him to a vet, who found a microchip with tracking information under Brindle’s skin, information that brought Brindle and Rowley back together.
They were reunited on Sunday at Rowley’s Fredericksburg home after a woman who heard Brindle's story volunteered to fly out to Oklahoma and drive the dog the 1,300 miles home.
No one knows where Brindle has been for the last 10 years, but he and his owner have a lot of catching up to do.
