It’s a Christmas miracle, one year in the making.

A deaf sheepdog stolen from its Alabama owner has been found safe in Arizona and is set to be reunited with its owner after a year-long saga.

Rags, an Old English Sheepdog, was snatched from Olivia Gardner’s home in Silverhill, in Baldwin County, while Gardner was attending a Christmas parade on Dec. 13, 2023 in an incident captured on a doorbell camera.

On Friday, Gardner announced on the Rags Search Force Facebook page that her beloved sheepdog has been found after a year-long disappearance that involved lawsuits, petitions and social media posts.

“So the news is out, Rags has been found safe and will be coming home! I don’t have much information I can share at the moment, and wasn’t expecting this to go public yet, but our boy is coming home!!!” Gardner posted to the page.

At some point during Rags’ disappearance, Silverhill police asked the Maricopa, Arizona Police Department for help in locating the deaf sheepdog, according to Maricopa police.

On Thursday, Maricopa officers found the dog at a home there.

“The occupants of the residence stated they were fostering the dog for friends and referred to the dog by a different name,” according to the department’s summary of the case.

“Positive identification of Rags was confirmed through photo comparisons and microchip verification,” the summary continued.

Gardner is headed to Arizona to be reunited with Rags.

Any information on charges related to the case will be announced by Silverhill police, according to Maricopa police.

Neither Gardner nor Silverhill police could be reached for additional comment.

Rags was the focus of a lawsuit before he was stolen involving Gardner and the pup’s former owners.

Rags’ former owners, Monte and Dottie Marsh, were suing Gardner in an effort to get the dog back.

The Marshes filed a motion — which was granted — to dismiss their case against Gardner, saying “the dog, named Rags [sic] was stolen” and pointing out “the story is all over the internet and TV,” according to Baldwin County Circuit Court records.

The Marshes filed their lawsuit against Gardner in late July, claiming they gave Rags to Gardner “to keep, own and provide for the dog as long as defendant kept the plaintiffs involved in the dogs life,” according to an affidavit in the case.

“Almost immediately the defendant kept the dog not involved in the plaintiffs’ life. and has blocked the plaintiffs from seeing or interacting with their dog. Plaintiffs own the dog,” the affidavit continued.

Meanwhile, Gardner countersued the Marshes, claiming the couple gave her ownership of the pooch because they could not care for Rags and their other dog was aggressive toward the sheepdog.

Gardner’s countersuit accuses the Marshes of malicious prosecution.

“Since June, 2023, the Marshes decided they made a mistake and have engaged in a malicious campaign of harassment of Gardner, including, calling and speaking with her employer, calling her mother and accusing her mother of lying about the aggressiveness of their other dog which Gardner’s mother had witnessed,” the counterclaim alleged.

Observers of Rags’ ordeal said his safe return is a cause for celebration.

“Can we have a welcome home parade to celebrate?!?” posted one member of the Rags Search Force. “It’s not everyday there is a Christmas miracle!!