Family dog goes missing and it takes owners 12 days to finally find her (video)

The dog had run away from home, and his human family spent almost two weeks trying desperately to find him again.

Butters the Border Collie doesn't like being left alone at home, and gets incredibly anxious when he is. His family had planned to go away on holiday, and his doggie-sitter was supposed to arrive shortly after they left.

But A Vargas, who shared video footage to Facebook, said that by the time her sister arrived at the house, Butters had dug a hole under the fence and escaped.

Butters' disappearance sparked a 12-day search by the Vargas' who were desperate to have their beloved pup back safe in their arms.

The family were new to the area in Las Vegas, and had not yet had a chance to really get to know their neighbors. The neighbors had noticed the dog running free in the street, but had been unable to catch the frightened hound.

The family immediately returned home to look for the dog, posting fliers all over the neighborhood. They also contacted all the local veterinarians, and the pounds to see if perhaps he had been found and sent there.

Once all that was done, they drove around for hours calling for him.

For 12 days, the family desperately searched for their fur-baby.

Finally, they received a call from one of their local lost dog apps saying that a dog matching Butters' description had been spotted running next to the freeway at 3AM that morning.

The family immediately set out to look for Butters in that area, but the first search didn't yield any results.

Vargas then went out on her own, and turned down a dead-end street to check it out because her instincts were screaming at her to check. Usually, she would just look down them, but she followed her gut this time.

There was Butters, lying on someone's doorstep!

When she called out to Butters, he immediately came running to her, clearly recognizing her.

Returning home, it was evident how much the precious pooch is part of the family, as her husband was over the moon to see Butters.

"Butters means the world to all of us and we never gave up! We'd still be looking if we had not found him. It was a very emotional reunion!" Vargas wrote on her Facebook post, sharing how much the family loves him.