(UPI) A Michigan woman whose service dog escaped during a trip to Illinois was reunited with her pet when the canine was found three years later about 12 miles from where she went missing.

Debra Mejeur, of Kalamazoo, said Lola, her black Labrador service dog for epilepsy, escaped from a back yard in Elk Grove, Ill., where Mejeur and her husband were visiting friends, in October 2017.

Mejeur said she and her husband returned to Elk Grove every weekend for three months to search for Lola, but there was no sign of the missing canine.

The couple had no word of Lola until Thursday, when they received a call from DuPage County Animal Services in Illinois. They learned a couple had been leaving food out for a stray dog for about a year and had finally gained the animal's trust enough to capture her and bring her to the shelter, where she was scanned for a microchip.

The couple who captured Lola live in Glendale Heights, about 12 miles from the home where Lola had escaped three years earlier.

Mejeur traveled to Illinois during the weekend and was reunited with Lola. She said Lola will serve only as a pet, since she acquired a new service dog. She said she is grateful to the couple who fed Lola and brought her to the shelter.

"They are amazing people who did a very selfless act," Mejeur told Mlive.com. They will always be a part of our family and our lives and Lola's story.

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