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Temple family reunited with dog after it went missing in 2016

A dog and her original owners were reunited over the weekend after it had been missing for six years.

TEMPLE, Texas — 13-year-old Bailey Kilgore is having an all-time great birthday. 

“I started crying," said Kilgore. "I was crying a lot and I don't think its really clicked in my head that she’s back even though I’m holding her, it just doesn’t feel real, I feel like I’m dreaming.”

That's what she said after being reunited with her 15-year-old dog Dalila. The Pomeranian poodle was a wedding gift to her parents and her best friend growing up. 

In 2016, she slipped out under the family's fence and went missing. They put up flyers and looked, but never found Dalila. 

That was until Dalila and Bailey's mother, Tia, saw a post on social media that grabbed her attention on Saturday. 

“I was scrolling on Facebook on Saturday night and I saw the post and part of me was like nah that can't be, I started to continue to scroll and then something just told me to go back and look," Tia said. 

She commented that it was a longshot but her dog went missing in 2016. She also sent a flyer that was made when they were looking for her. 

The Lopez family, who found the dog and created the post, didn't think it was such a longshot. 

“When she sent me the flyer, I knew it was her, it looked exactly like her," Esperanza Lopez said. 

The two families met on Sunday after church and it didn't take long for emotions to start flowing. 

“Bailey immediately knew, she busted out in tears and said that's her, that's her and then they checked her teeth, I guess she had an accident and one of her teeth had been chipped and they said yep that's her," Lopez said. 

Dalila is now back with her family and her daughter and granddaughter, the product of two litters. 

“It just makes me so happy and just knowing that she's back and she's not just out somewhere where she can be harmed and thinking about all the things she had to go through the last six years, its crazy," Bailey said. 

If only we could hear Dalila's story. 

“She's definitely a survivor for sure," Tia said. 

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