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Runaway pooch reunited with owners

A Queensland family will be reunited with their pet dog, two years after it went missing from their Gold Coast home.

'Diesel' was located yesterday - his owners had since moved to Mackay.

The last time dog's owners saw him was in 2010, and the Staffordshire was just a puppy.

The McDonald family were devastated when they came home one afternoon and found him gone.

"He was very loyal and protective of not just the boys but the family unit," owner Samantha McDonald said.

An unexpected phone call came on Sunday night after Diesel was found in Southport - and handed in to the Animal Emergency Service.

"The anonymous lady who spotted Diesel yesterday afternoon, we don't know who she is, but thank you," Mrs McDonald said.

Diesel had no collar but a microchip implanted beneath his skin, which contained the details of his original owners.

Vets believe for two years, he has been someone else's pet.

The animal emergency service receives up to 50 stray dogs in south east Queensland each week - only a quarter of those ever get reunited with their owners.

"Some of them have to go to the pound which is unfortunate, but the benefit of having a microchip is that we can find the owners and they can go home," Dr Dana Reynolds from the Animal Emergency Service said.

The McDonalds will be waiting at Mackay Airport for Diesel when he arrives home on Wednesday, after Jetpet booked the pooch a spot on a flight from Brisbane.