Maisy the beagle is safely back at home after an absence of more than five years.

A beagle's nose may have caused her separation from her West Knox County family, but her microchip helped reunite them Tuesday - 5½ years after the dog went missing.

In what Young-Williams Animal Center officials believe is possibly the longest time ever between a dog being lost and found locally, 12-year-old Maisy rejoined the Chad Helland family.

"We got her yesterday afternoon," said an excited Helland on Wednesday. "We are just elated. We felt guilty because we didn't do a better job of keeping track of her."

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