CLOVER, S.C. -- When our NewsChannel36 crew showed up at the Shaw family home in Clover, Cooper the beagle came to the window like the good watchdog she used to be.

"You always wonder where she is or what she's doing, especially if you see someone else walking a dog," said Stephen Shaw.

Anyone can look into Cooper's eyes and see she has an emotional story to tell.

"A guy I worked with saw her on the side of the road, she was maybe 5 or 6 months old," said Shaw.

That was seven years ago in Charlotte and being a natural hunting dog, Cooper had a habit of taking off after squirrels, rodents and other small animals.

"She'd bolt through the invisible fence," said Shaw. "One day she bolted through and didn't come back."

The Shaw family searched for years.

"Signs, posters, online advertising, a lot of e-mails," Shaw said.

It turns out, another family found Cooper near Northlake Mall. It was then 2005.

But Cooper's newfound owners eventually moved to Virginia, where Cooper ran away again, only this time it was three years later.

"We'd gotten a phone call from a vet in Virginia," said Shaw.

He says his wife answered the phone.

"She came in bawling with tears. I said, 'What's wrong?' (She said) they found Cooper," Shaw said.

The woman who found Cooper weeks ago also found out the dog was microchipped.

"A very tiny chip we insert under the animals skin," explained Cooper's new vet, Dr. Gretchen Love. "Usually goes in the back of the neck in what we call the scruff."

And now Love is sure to make Cooper the poster pet for microchipping. She says the cost is cheap.

"Forty bucks and for the rest of your pet's life they're microchipped," said Love. 

She also says the pain is minimal explaining, "Like we would do a vaccine. We usually do it when the dog is spayed or neutered just because they're under anesthesia."

And, she says, the benefits are priceless. Shaw agrees.

"Like a lot of things you take it for granted till it's gone. Then when you get it back you realize, hang onto it," Shaw said. 

Love says don't forget to update your information with the chipping company if you move or change phone numbers. Cooper's family moved to Clover and they did update their contact information.

Also, if your pet ends up at a shelter, it will automatically be scanned for a microchip because it's a nationwide requirement.