WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KTXL) — Christmas came early for a West Sacramento woman on Tuesday morning when she was reunited with her lost dog that went missing over a year ago.

Sandra O’Neill couldn’t hold back tears when she held Zeppelin in her arms for the first time in more than a year. 

She figured her dog was gone until she received an unthinkable call that he was found by someone 1,000 miles away in Kansas. The dog was taken to the vet, who found the microchip that linked Zepplin back to his owner in West Sacramento. 

“This is an amazing gift,” O’Neill said. “I mean our family is blessed to have him home.”

Zeppelin, a German shepherd mix, went missing in October 2021. O’Neill owned Zeppelin for 18 months prior to him going missing. 

He is being driven back to West Sacramento by a woman named Mary Hastings, who volunteered to take him back home after she visited her daughter in Kansas.

“I try not to cry; I want to. it’s just overfilling the heart,” Hastings said. “It’s just so full right now.”

O’Neill’s daughter Candice is thrilled to see her mom overcome with joy to have Zeppelin back. 

“You know the first couple of months we were hopeful we’d see him again,” Candice O’Neill said. “We put multiple ads and stuff like that then after seven months we thought he has found another home.”  

How the O’Neill’s dog ended up in Kansas is still unclear, but for Sandra O’Neill, she’s just glad to have Zeppelin home and a new lifelong friend.