(NewsNation) — Well, they don’t call dogs man’s best friend for no reason, and this pair proved that love and loyalty do not fade, even after eight long years of being apart.
Paul Guilbeault lost his companion, Damian, near Oklahoma City during a cross-country move. Nearly a decade later, his Apple Watch unexpectedly alerted him of a voicemail saying that Damian had been found.
An Oklahoma driver had a close call with Damian, who was then taken to the vet, where his identity was confirmed through an implanted microchip.
Guilbeault and Damian joined “Morning in America” on Tuesday to discuss their reunification.
“It’s completely surreal,” Guilbeault said. “Every time he and I lock eyes, we have this moment of, ‘Is this really happening? I can feel it. I can sense it in my heart.'”
No one knows what happened to Damian in the near-decade without his owner, but Guilbeault believes he has spent much of that time without human companionship.
“With his nails so overgrown, I really feel he was not being cared for, but maybe being fed by somebody in the area,” he said.
“Especially given the fact that when (the driver) picked him up, initially, he was trying to bite her and screaming at her, and so I’ll be willing to bet nobody else was able to.”
As for the present and future, it seems Damian and Guilbeault are back where they belong, with each other.
“We didn’t skip a beat,” Guilbeault said. “It feels like everything is just back to normal.”