For as long as Adopt An ANGEL animal shelter staff members have known Goose, he’s had a deep, howl-like bark.

“He’s got a hound bark that could seriously win contests,” Adopt An ANGEL director Jill Jones told The Dodo.

According to Jones, Goose’s barks coincide with his feelings. “He screams when he feels anxious and abandoned,” Jones said. “If he’s quiet, it’s because he’s happy.”

But by his third stint at the rescue, Goose’s life had been more sad than happy.

When the shelter took Goose in for the first time as an injured puppy, he howled after being separated from his mom. And when his first adoptive family brought him back as an adult, staff assumed that he was crying out for them.

Goose was adopted for a second time shortly after by a young couple, but the relationship ended abruptly. And when the couple went their separate ways, one of Goose’s parents relinquished him back to the shelter without telling the other.

“[His dad] moved to Florida and had no idea that Goose was here with us in North Carolina,” Jones said. “We didn’t know that he was out there, either.”

Goose’s howls at the shelter were even louder the third time around.

You can listen to them here:

Staff members knew that he needed a family he could stay with forever, so they featured Goose in an adoption fair soon after.

“One of [Goose’s dad]’s best friends happened to come into the adoption fair,” Jones said.

The man stumbled across Goose, who’d been missing an ear since he was a puppy, and immediately recognized him.

“He was like, ‘Oh my God! Goose, what are you doing here?’ and just started texting [Goose’s dad],” Jones said.

Goose’s dad was shocked to hear that his dog was at a shelter again. Although he couldn’t take Goose in himself, he was determined to adopt the loving pup into his family.

“He was like, ‘Let me figure this out so that I can get Goose out of the shelter and bring him back,’” Jones said.

Less than four days later, Goose’s dad drove from Florida to North Carolina and reunited with his long-lost pup.

When the time came to see him again, Goose, who is usually the loudest dog at the shelter, went completely quiet.

“It was like he was saying, ‘I know that my people are here, so there’s no need to scream,’” Jones said. “‘I was only screaming for my people.’”

He didn’t make a sound, but staff members could tell by his excited jumps that Goose was happy to see his dad again.

You can watch the emotional reunion here:

After their reunion, Goose and his dad set off on their first road trip together to Florida. Goose’s grandpa offered to give the pup a permanent home, and that’s where he’s been ever since.

According to Jones, Goose is thriving in Florida, where he spends his days running around his new fenced-in yard and playing with his dog cousins. Even though she misses him, Jones is relieved to know that Goose no longer has a reason to cry.

“He’s finally back with his humans,” Jones said.

To help dogs like Goose get the care they need, make a donation to Adopt An ANGEL animal shelter.