Gary, Indiana – Vanessa Antonino from Illinois was in a state of disbelief when a shelter worker from Indiana informed told they had her dog, Flor. The Chihuahua had been missing for 12 years.

When Antonino got the call from the Griffith, Indiana Animal Control & Shelter, she told CBS Chicago she was shocked: "I was like, 'Flor?' I’m like, 'I hadn’t heard her name in years!'"

Even more surprising, the little dog wasn't found in Illinois.

Flor was found in Indiana!

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Tanya Ohanian, head of the dog department at the Evanston Animal Shelter, told People that 12 years ago, Flor’s owner had been living in and out of her car. When Antonino worked, she'd leave Flor inside the car because she didn't have another option.

"And then one day she went to her car, and the dog was just gone," Ohanian said.

Ohanian says that when Flor went missing, Antonino felt guilty and told her: "I had no money, I had no resources. Like I tried my best to find her, and I just, like I couldn’t find her."

Flor's disappearance shook her owner to the core. "She never stopped thinking about her baby," the Griffith Indiana Animal Control & Shelter wrote on Facebook. "She still talked about her to this day and held onto the hope that somehow, somewhere, she was okay."

Flor was able to be reunited with her owner because the old dog's microchip still worked!

A volunteer eventually brought the elderly doggo back to Illinois. There, Vanessa Antonino came to pick Flor up with her four children.

"I went and saw her. I just bawled. I broke down completely," Antonino said, per NBC5.

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Antonino added, "She was back with me. A piece of my heart was back with me."

"I missed years with her, her knowing her brothers, like, her human brothers. They all know about her," Antonino told CBS Chicago.

Antonino explained that she wasn't the only one excited by her dog's return. Her kids declared her their doggie sister!

"Stories like this are exactly why microchipping your pets AND keeping that information up to date is so incredibly important. You truly never know when one tiny chip could be the reason your best friend finds their way back to you – even 12 years later," Griffith Indiana Animal Control & Shelter wrote on Facebook.