Nearly two years later, owners reunite with dog that went missing on camping trip

Back in October 2012, Nathan and Erin Braun were camping with their golden retriever, Murphy. While hiking along the trails through Tahoe National Forest, the couple lost their dog, and despite calling and searching, they feared the 5-year-old pup might be gone for good. The Brauns set up a Facebook page, posted fliers, and returned to the camping site, seemingly to no avail.

Then, earlier this month, a couple camping at a site just five miles from the one the Brauns had stayed at saw Murphy, reports the Los Angeles Times. When the couple first arrived at the French Meadows Reservoir site, the dog refused to show. So, they left Murphy's bed and a few items of their own clothing, asking the camper to contact them if Murphy came back.

"The very first night I laid (the bed and clothing) out, I heard some movement," Jason Smith said. "There was Murphy, sleeping on the blanket. It was curled up with its head on the hat."

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A week's worth of evenings spent on the bedding was enough to coax Murphy into a kennel, at which point Smith called the Brauns, and Murphy headed for home.

"(Murphy) is on the road to recovery," Erin Braun wrote in a Facebook post. "Very thin and frail, but happy to be home with her family."