By JEREMY OLSHAN

When her beagle, Rocco, squeezed himself under the backyard gate and disappeared into the streets of Queens, 5-year-old Natalie Villacis refused to believe - as her parents reluctantly told her - that she would never see the puppy again.

That was in 2003.

Last weekend, Rocco came home - after being found in Georgia.

The prodigal pooch turned up in a shelter 850 miles away in Hinesville, and by a combination of chance and chip - the one embedded in his back - was reunited with Natalie, now 11, and her family.

"When my mom told me they found Rocco, I cried hysterically - just like I did when they told me he was lost," Natalie told The Post. "I felt like I was in a dream, like my head was spinning."

Someone dropped Rocco off as a stray at the Liberty County Animal Control in Hinseville on July 5, supervisor Randy Durrence said.

After scanning the pooch's identity microchip, one of thousands routinely implanted in the skin of many pets today, Durrence traced Rocco to Queens.

Wow that is so amazing. That is great that they were reunited.

amazing that he was found after all that time

Wow that's really incredible!

I LOVE happy endings to what is usually a tragic finish.

that is heart warming

I love happy endings. I bet that pup has some story to tell.

Wow - one lucky dog and and even luckier family. The fact that he even got out of Queens without being killed is a miracle all by itself. Somebody Upstairs was definitely watching out for him.