Doggone...if it isn't Muffy

Muffy, the 11-year-old Terrier Cross

An overjoyed Gold Coast family are to be reunited with their pet dog Muffy, discovered riddled with fleas in a squalid Melbourne backyard 2000km away and nine years after going missing.

The RSPCA discovered the little bitzer sleeping on a scrap of cardboard in a filthy backyard after a tip.

To their surprise, inspectors found Muffy was microchipped, and tracked down owner Natalie Lampard at Burleigh Waters on the Gold Coast.

Lampard said that as soon as she was given a description, she knew it was their long-lost pet.

"When the RSPCA described her I told them her name. I knew immediately it was our Muffy," she said.

"It was totally out of the blue, after nine years I thought she was long gone."

Lampard, who was confined to her home with swine flu yesterday, said she was hoping to be well enough to organise a welcome home party when Muffy is flown back to the Gold Coast next week.

"She was pretty neglected and riddled with fleas, which gave her a skin allergy, and she's a special needs dog now, she has to be looked after but I think she deserves to be."

Adam Rushby said his mum bought Muffy as an eighth birthday present for his now 17-year-old sister Chloe. The dog used to sleep on the foot of her bed every night.

"We can't believe she's been found, so far away and no one knows how she got to Melbourne," the 14-year-old said. "It's all a big mystery."

- AAP