A cat and its owner who have been apart for almost 10 years are now sharing a happy ending.

Vanilla is Dara Gerson's male, Siamese cat ran that away from her former home in Sausalito 8 ½ years ago when he was still a kitten.

The now-Los Angeles resident reclaimed Vanilla Thursday in San Francisco.

"In my heart, I knew he was not dead," Gerson said. "But we put up signs, we asked everyone in the neighborhood and nobody had seen him."

That is until the night of Dec. 21, 2012.

San Francisco Animal Control Deputy Officer Joseph Majeski took custody of Vanilla from a Dolores Park homeowner hospitalized with dementia.

The identification microchip in Vanilla's ear led Majeski to call Gerson that same night.

"I started screaming, because I was like, 'Could you hold on a second?' and then I started screaming, 'Oh my gosh, they have Vanilla!"

Animal Control officers said Vanilla is lucky because only about 10 percent of the pets at the county shelter have microchips.

"Sometimes owners, I call them and I find their missing pets, their pet's been missing for a week or two, but this was just a whole different level of happiness," Majeski said.

"He's a big boy now," Gerson said. "It's crazy because I feel like he's my son, so I feel connected. He's just looks different."

Vanilla is now headed to his new home in Los Angeles, which he'll share with two children, a dog and another cat.