When a Phoenix man got a phone call from the American Kennel Club on New Year’s Eve, he was sure he was being scammed.
Paul Guilbeault, a local photographer, lost his miniature Doberman pinscher, Damion, in 2017. Guilbeault first got Damion when he was only 6 months old after a friend decided to rehome him. Guilbeault, who previously owned a pet store, was the perfect person to foster the dog and ended up loving the dog so he decided to keep him for himself.
Guilbeault moved from Arizona to Massachusetts, where he is originally from, with Damion. Almost a year later, Guilbeault decided to move back to Arizona. On the drive back, Guilbeault and Damion stopped in Oklahoma City.
While going for a walk, Guilbeault said he was trying to keep Damion from walking on the road when Damion ran away from him.
“He either got fed up with being scolded or scared, and he just ran away. He started running down the service road, and I couldn’t catch him,” Guilbeault said.
Guilbeault ended up staying in Oklahoma City for an extra week to try to find Damion, but despite posting flyers and writing in local Facebook groups, there was no luck in locating Damion.
In January 2025, Guilbeault and his husband Julian were driving to California to donate clothes to those impacted by the fires when Guilbeault received a phone call from the American Kennel Club. A man in Oklahoma City had found Damian on Dec. 31, 2024.
“Of course, I pulled over, freaking out and emotional. I’m questioning, is this even real? Am I getting scammed? What’s about to happen?” Guilbeault said.
But the phone calls that Guilbeault had been repeatedly sending to voicemail turned out not to be a scam, as Damion had been found on the road by an Oklahoma City couple.
Damion was microchipped through the American Kennel Club, but Damian couldn’t be located until someone actually scanned the microchip, which finally happened eight years later when he was taken to the vet, who was alerted that Damion was a missing dog.
Guilbeault and his husband immediately turned around and drove the 14 hours to Oklahoma City, where they picked up Damion.
“He’s happy as can be. He definitely recognizes me,” Guilbeault said.
But of course, since Damion can’t talk, his whereabouts over the past eight years are unknown. Guilbeault didn’t think anyone had taken care of Damion over the years, because his toenails were so overgrown.
At 13 or 14 years old, Damion is also visibly older, with Guilbeault saying he looks more like a chihuahua than a miniature Doberman pinscher.
Now, Guilbeault said Damion is doing great, although he doesn’t eat as much as he did eight years ago. He’s also getting along with Guilbeault’s other two dogs, which are wolf dogs mixed with Malamute and border collie.
Guilbeault said Damion even recognizes his parents’ house, which is where they lived the last time they were in Arizona.
“When we go there, he gets such a smile on his face. Like, ‘I know where we’re at. I finally made it home,'” said Guilbeault.
