THERE’S NOTHING LIKE a truly lovely happy ending.

A New Jersey family whose dog was lost in Hurricane Sandy were reunited with their pet after discovering it at an animal shelter

Reckless, a terrier-pit bull mix, escaped from their back yard during the storm in October 2012.

After months and months of searching, the family gave up hope of ever finding him.

They went to an animal shelter this week to adopt a new pet – and came home with their old dog.

Speaking to the Associated Press, dad Chuck James said they planned to get a new dog for their eldest daughter’s 10th birthday:

We reported him missing and called the shelters periodically, just hoping they had him. We always kept our hopes up, but eventually it’s time to move on.

But when the family of five went to an animal shelter on Thursday to adopt a new animal, they saw a familiar face.

AP AP

He was a little bigger than I remembered because they had fed him well. But then he lay on my wife’s feet, and I knew it was him. I was in disbelief. I know this dog is meant to be with our family.

When staff asked if they could prove the animal was their dog, a friend sent over a picture showing the family with their dog before Sandy hit the Jersey shore.

The staff said Reckless was picked up as a stray, and has since been microchipped.

James said he’s thankful it was a no-kill animal shelter:

We’re all so happy to have him back. Thank God they didn’t put him down because this would have been a different story.

Watch this soldier’s emotional reunion with his bomb-sniffing dog>

5 of the most powerful quotes from Gabourey Sidibe’s “confidence” speech>