A Canadian man and his German shepherd were reunited after the dog was stolen from his own backyard 18 months ago. 

Richard Brower recently decided that he wanted to adopt a new dog. Within minutes of his internet search he started shaking. 

A local animal shelter called Claresholm Rescue Society actually had his alive and healthy canine friend, Dozer! 

"It was the first post that came up, and Dozer was just staring me back in the face, looking pretty much like he did 18 months before. And my heart just kind of sank and I started shaking," Brower told CBC Radio. 

Brower's parents happened to be near Claresholm in Alberta that day, so he asked them to stop by. Sure enough, Dozer recognized them as soon as they walked in, reported CBC Radio. 

Just to be certain that it wasn't just an especially friendly dog of the same breed, Brower gave his father instructions for one more test to tell that this was really his dog. 

"One of the first things I taught him was to snap my fingers, and then he'll come around to my right side and wait for his second command," Brower told CBC Radio. "So I asked dad to go in the cage. The lady was there, and I didn't say what he would do, I just said, 'Snap your fingers.' Then I said, 'What did he do?' He said, 'He's sitting on my right-hand side looking straight up at me'."

Dozer clearly missed his old home. When he arrived on his old block his tail began wagging in Brower's dad's car. Once they arrived at Brower's house Dozer leaped out of the car, "whining like a baby" in Brower's arms. 

Now that Brower and Dozer are reunited they need to make up for lost time. Dozer is 10 years old and Brower already missed two years of his life when he was stolen from his backyard. 

Since Dozer came home, Brower began letting the dog sleep in the bed (something he never allowed before), he takes the dog on a walk every morning, and he has a lot of new toys from friends and family who were touched by his story.