Marshall, Kentucky – Ayden Clevidence from Marshall, Kentucky, was in sixth grade when his dog disappeared without a trace. After eight long years, Ayden had given up hope until a phone call from the shelter changed everything.

"One day I came home, and he was gone," the now 18-year-old told WPSD.

The dog, originally named Terrel but referred to as "T," was presumed to be gone for good after going missing eight years ago.

Then in May 2026, the phone rang.

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"The lady told me she was from the Calloway County Animal Shelter and [said] I need to come down and get my dog. I really thought it was [my other dog] Bella," Tonya Hudson, Ayden's mother, told the news station.

When she asked about the dog's coloration, however, it became clear which pup had been found.

"You got to be kidding me," Tonya told the shelter. "Did you know how long this dog’s been missing?"

She headed over to the shelter, worried that the long-lost dog wouldn't remember them. But as soon as she loaded him into her car, she started to hope.

"[He] got in the car, stood in the back seat, and was good to go," she recalled. "I was like, ‘OK. This just might work out again.'"

Now home, the dog has settled back in as if nothing had happened. The ten‑year‑old pooch is luckily in excellent health.

"I think he thinks he’s a basketball player because every time I dribble the ball, he comes running over and tries to take it from me. He’s full of energy and loves everyone," Ayden said.

Ayden, who has now finished school and has a steady girlfriend, couldn't help but reminisce about when he first adopted Terrell: "I went to the McCracken County Animal Shelter and got him. Then we took him back [home], and I feel like I was inseparable from him ever since."

When the dog disappeared, the family searched high and low, but there was no sign of T.

"It broke my heart because [Ayden] cried for almost a year. We called animal shelters, vets, and everybody. We went looking [for him], and finally, about a year later, we just decided to give up," Tonya said.

Thank goodness they found him in the end!