A local family was surprised to see a familiar, furry face show up at the bowling alley that they own 12 miles away from their home, Local 4 reported.

Mikki and D.C. Craft posted fliers and ads in papers in their search for their black Labrador-beagle, named Tasha, which disappeared from their home in Commerce Township on Dec. 7.

The couple told The Oakland Press that Tasha was a "house dog," but they would periodically let her out in the yard. She was kept in by a collar designed to give her a jolt if she tried to run off, the paper reported.

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VIDEO: Hear Family's Tale Of Lost Dog's Journey

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Mikki Craft said she knew something was wrong when she came home to an empty house that day.

"I came home. My husband and the baby were gone … and I called for Tasha. She was nowhere to be found," Craft said.

Then last Thursday at about 5 p.m., a friend spotted a black dog outside Lakewood Lanes in Waterford Township, which the couple owns, the paper reported. The friend notified Mikki Craft, who was working at the bowling alley that day.

Craft told the paper that the dog was about 200 yards away. The couple worked from 8:30 p.m. until 4:30 a.m. -- using food and other means -- before Tasha walked into the bowling alley and reunited with her owners.

The Crafts took Tasha to Lakeside Animal Hospital veterinarian J. Augustus Brooks, who found a large sore on the dog's leg and treated it, the paper reported. Tasha had also lost about 20 pounds during her two-month journey.

The Crafts wondered how the house dog survived snow and freezing temperatures in January, but Brooks told the paper, "An animal's natural instinct of survival will overpower any other learned behavior. That's a proven fact.”