Ariz. Man Never Gave Up Hope that He Would Find His Missing Dog. 8 Years Later, the Duo Finally Reunited

• Paul Guilbeault lost his dog in Oklahoma in 2017 while moving from Massachusetts to Arizona

• Despite losing his dog in a state where he didn't reside, the pet parent never gave up hope that he would find his miniature pinscher, Damian

• Guilbeault learned his long-lost dog had been found while assisting with donation efforts for the L.A. wildfires

An Arizona man had an unexpected reunion with his dog — a moment eight years in the making.

"Even in the darkest moments, you never give up hope," Paul Guilbeault tells ABC 15 Arizona about reuniting with his beloved pet, who went missing eight years ago.

On Jan. 15, Guilbeault and his husband traveled to California to donate clothes and other items to wildfire victims. On the way, he received a call from an unknown number, which he ignored. The caller tried again, but nothing. Eventually, the caller left a text that appeared on Guilbeault's watch.

"My Apple Watch gave me a little preview, and it said, 'Your dog, Damian, has been found,'" Guilbeault tells ABC News. "And I was like, 'What the…?'"

Guilbeault was skeptical at first. After responding to the text and learning more details, he discovered his long-lost dog's astonishing reemergence was real. Damian, Guilbeault's miniature pinscher, was alive in Oklahoma eight years after disappearing.

In 2017, Guilbeault moved from Massachusetts to Arizona with all his belongings and his 5-year-old pup, Damian. During a stop near Oklahoma City, he took Damian for a walk, but the canine got spooked, slipped off his leash, and ran off. 

"We searched up until it got dark enough to where my dad forced us to stop searching," Guilbeault said. "We stayed for another week… My dad's like, 'We have to continue on, we're renting a U-Haul.'"

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In the following years, Guilbeault continued the search. He created flyers and posted online about Damian, hoping that someone would find him.

“I kept trying to search, but the search dwindled as the years went on. Eventually, it got to the point where just seeing his missing poster hurt too much, and I didn’t share it as often as I used to,” the dog owner told ABC News.

Related: 2 Cats Trapped in Their Home amid L.A. Fires Reunited with Owner: 'Touching Moment Filled with Hugs'

He added: "I was his everything, as he was mine, and losing him was really, really tough."

But those feelings subsided when Guilbeault received that unbelievable text. He and his husband ended their trip to California and made the 14-hour trek to Oklahoma.

Donna Bentley, an Oklahoma resident, found Damian after nearly hitting the dog while driving in an area 30 miles from where Guilbeault lost the pup. Bentley brought Damian to her brother Rick Chambers, who took the miniature pinscher to the vet because the dog looked skinny but not malnourished. Veterinarians scanned Damian for a microchip and found one loaded with Guilbeault's contact information.

Guilbeault shared footage from her reunion with Damian on Instagram. Damian initially acts shy in the clip but soon starts cuddling in his owner's arms.

"It was sort of like it was fate," Guilbeault says in the clip. 

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"The whole time he was in my husband's lap, curled up in a ball, and he would turn his head back, looking at me driving, and just have this giant smile," the pet owner told ABC News. "I feel like he was thinking, 'Oh my god, is this real? Did I really find him finally?'"

Guilbeault is thankful he microchipped Damian and said all pet owners should do the same for their pets.

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