Dogsey

A puppy that went missing in New York more than two years ago has turned up alive and well some 1,000 miles away in Florida.

Nika, a six-month-old toy fox terrier, vanished from the backyard of her home in Newburgh, New York, in May 2012, leaving owner guiseppe DiBella heartbroken.

'It was one of the most horrible days of my life,' Mr DiBella said. He had been doing yard work in front of his home for only a few minutes when he believes someone snatched the three-pound dog from her leash.

A devastated Mr DiBella immediately went to the police and spent a year searching animal shelters for his pet and distributing missing-dog posters.

But it wasn't until last week that he had any news regarding the whereabouts of his beloved pooch.

He received a phone call from police in Ocala, Florida, informing him that Nika had been found on the doorstep of local home.

'I said, 'All right, I'm coming,'" Mr DiBella told New York's CBS 2. "'Where are you?'" They said, "We are in Marion County."

'I said, "Where is Marion County?;" They said, "In Florida." I said, "I'm in New YorkK'|

Nika, who was underweight and looked like she could have been neglected, had been taken to an Ocala animal shelter where she was identified by her microchip.

A family friend in Florida is caring for the little dog until she can be reunited with her owner, who still lives in New York with his other dog Martha. It is still not clear how Nika traveled the 1,090 miles or so to Florida.