Enjoy this soul-warming story of the internet helping a man reunite with his stolen pet rat

Animals, they’re (almost) always at our sides ready to give unconditional love at every turn. So when things happen to these dearest beasts, a part of you might get lost. Well, for a homeless man in Australia, that exact thing happened. But don’t despair too much, because it has a happy ending.

Chris and his pet rat Lucy are seen frequently around Sydney. According to Mashable, Chris often chats with people as Lucy does what rat buds do best: eat and sleep. However, Lucy went missing earlier this month as she was patiently waiting Chris to come back from using a nearby bathroom. Of course, Chris started trying to do what he could to get her back, posting a note on his crate, which read, “My pet rat Lucy was stolen on Saturday,” his sign read. “Lucy is black and white with a bite (sic) of brown.”

The photo—which showed a forlorn Chris and his sign—was shared to the “Lost Pets in NSW” Facebook page, which aims to reunite owners and their lost furry friends. Thanks to a kind citizen by the name of Alyson Pearce, who originally sent them the story, it went viral. “Taking a homeless persons loved pet – seriously, what a really low act,” Pearce wrote, noting that, across the pair’s union, the rat’s never run from its owner. “Please repost this story in the hope that the power of social media may find someone who knows where Lucy is.”

It wasn’t long before that picture made it to the front page of Reddit, which, as the hell site can do on occasion, turned out to be a very good thing for Chris and Lucy.

[Video of him getting Lucy back]

After another person, Danielle Hunter Nymeria, posted a $500 reward for Lucy, the pet was returned to her rightful owner. It turns out it was all a huge misunderstanding to begin with, as a woman saw Lucy on the crate and took her home, thinking she’d been abandoned. “Yep, she remembers me,” Chris says in the video. “Sorry to put you through all the trouble.”