Sydney, July 30 (DPA) A mongrel called Muffy has a tale to tell a Hollywood agent might open a cheque book for, an Australian animal welfare group said Thursday.

The heartwarming story began in 2000 with Chloe Rushby getting a puppy on her eighth birthday and is to end next week with tears and wags as Muffy will be reunited with her now 17-year-old owner she hasn't seen in nine years.

Only Muffy knows what happened on her 3,000 km journey from a loving home in the balmy Gold Coast to homelessness in Melbourne's cold streets.

A microchip in Muffy's neck giving an address alerted animal welfare group RSPCA that the scrawny animal wasn't just another stray.

'When the RSPCA described her I told them her name. I knew immediately it was our Muffy,' Rushby's mum said. 'It was totally out of the blue. After nine years I thought she was long gone.'

Next week Muffy will be put on a plane in Melbourne for the flight back to her old home.