A Fraser Valley dog that was reunited with its owner after going missing for more than three years may have been just kilometres away from home the entire time.

Tugger was just eight weeks old when he disappeared from John Van Eslwyk and Sindy Cooper's Langley B.C. yard in April 2015, leaving the tiny Pomeranian's owners devastated.

"He just kind of disappeared out of here one later afternoon," Cooper said. "I put ads up on the posts around here."

The couple also tried contacting animal control, but there was no sign of their puppy.

Van Elswyk said he feared the dog had been snatched up by coyotes, but Cooper couldn't let go of the idea that Tugger was still out there.

"I don't know. I just always had a feeling he was close, but I couldn't reach him," she said.

Last month, they got a voicemail message that changed everything.

"I listened to that message twice before I could even tell her," Van Elswyk said, "and then it's like: 'We're leaving now. Drive there now.'"

Tugger had been found wandering in Fort Langley, about 11 kilometers from their home.

"I just went into shock," Cooper said. "I was shaken. I was like 'Are you Kidding me? Is he OK? Oh God, is he going to recognize me?'"

The Pomeranian had a microchip that allowed the Langley Animal Protection Society to figure out who his owners were.

Tugger also seemed to remember them, but the dog was in rough shape.

"His hair was yucky," Cooper said. "His breath was really bad. His teeth were really bad."

As a purebred Pomeranian, Tugger is a valuable dog, and the owners believe whoever had him for the past three years knew that.

"Somebody probably sold him to somebody that knew what he really was and then we think he was in a puppy mill," Van Eslwyk said.

No matter where he was, Tugger is now safe and on the mend and the void in Cooper and Van Elswyk's family has finally been filled.

With files from CTV Vancouver's Michele Brunoro