Mildred Grover greets her 8-year-old shepherd mix, Buddy, at the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals shelter Tuesday. Buddy and Grover were separated during Hurricane Katrina and reunited after Grover saw Buddy's picture on a Web site for lost pets. Photo by Gary Thompson.

When Mildred Grover last saw her best friend Buddy this summer, he was lounging around her New Orleans backyard.

But in order to reunite with the golden-haired 8-year-old Tuesday morning, Grover had to fly about 2,000 miles to where Buddy ended up: in a southwest Las Vegas pet shelter.

Buddy, a friendly shepherd mix who was sporting a red bandana and freshly shampooed coat for the occasion, was one of nine dogs a local animal lover brought to Las Vegas from Louisiana in September after Hurricane Katrina left the pets homeless and alone, separated maybe for good from the families who had cared for them.

Buddy was one of the lucky ones; Grover never gave up on him.

"As soon as I made sure my family was safe, I said, 'OK, now we've got to find Buddy,' " Grover said while playing fetch with the dog in a fenced-in area behind the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals shelter.

"This is the Buddy I remember, very active. He smells good, too. It's been a long time."

Grover, who evacuated with her family before the hurricane hit New Orleans, said she was forced to leave Buddy behind.

"Most of the emergency shelters wouldn't allow pets," she said. "We thought if something horrible happens, his best chance of survival would be in the yard, with the gate open."

Grover's home was destroyed, but Buddy survived. He ended up sharing space with hundreds of stranded dogs, cats, hamsters, turtles and other pets at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center, about 40 miles northwest of New Orleans. That's where Kristen Marciniak, a good Samaritan from Las Vegas, found him.

"He was just recovering from a leg wound," the Nevada State College at Henderson student said.

"He was in good spirits but a little sore. We called him Floppy because he kept flopping on his back to get his tummy rubbed."

Marciniak drove to the ravaged area in early September to volunteer after seeing televised images of dogs trapped on rooftops and swimming for their lives. For about two weeks, Marciniak worked 14-hour days feeding, walking and cleaning the animals, few of whom had identifying tags or microchip implants. When she came home, she brought some of them with her, hoping to eventually find their owners or substitute homes for them.

"My first visit I brought two dogs back in my car," she said. "The second trip, I brought a truck and brought seven dogs back."

Marciniak delivered five of the animals, including Buddy, to the NSPCA, three to Knoah's Ark Animal Sanctuary in Sandy Valley, south of Las Vegas, and decided to temporarily care for one in her own home.

After taking care of their medical needs, NSPCA staffers placed photos of Buddy and the other dogs on petfinder.com, a Web site dedicated to helping pet owners find their lost animals. Grover, who had relocated to Buford, S.C., had been searching on-line pet sites for Buddy.

"(Grover) spotted Buddy on the Web site and couldn't believe he was in Las Vegas," NSPCA Director Doug Duke said. "She didn't even know if he had survived. She called us and said, 'I think that's my dog.' "

Duke said Buddy had been depressed and was refusing to eat before Grover called.

"She told us his name, and when we called him Buddy, he stood up in his cage and you could see the zest returning. There was no more depression," he said.

Grover made arrangements to fly to Las Vegas, pick up Buddy and take him home to her 14-year-old daughter.

"We missed him so much," she said. "He's family."

Grover, who now works as an assistant principal at Buford Elementary School, said children at the school are as excited to see Buddy as she was.

"We are going to bring him to school and make an assembly out of it."

Duke said he has received no calls from the families of the other four dogs at the NSPCA. Two of the dogs are now available for adoption. The other two are being treated for heartworms Duke said they contracted while living in the "toxic water" of New Orleans.

"We're hoping they survive and will be ready for adoption during the holiday season."