Long lost army dog reunited with her handler

An Australian Defence Force bomb-sniffing dog missing in Afghanistan for more than a year has been reunited with her handler.

Sarbi, a Labrador-Newfoundland crossbreed, went missing in September 2008 after a clash with insurgents in Oruzgan Province.

She broke free when shrapnel from a rocket-propelled grenade broke a clip attached to her handler.

The soldier, who can only be identified as Sergeant D, said that after 14 months, an American soldier saw the dog with an Afghan man and then returned her to coalition forces in Taren Kowt.

"We can't say exactly where she was but we assume that she was being looked after by a family or some Afghan locals," Sergeant D told reporters at Sydney's Holdworthy Army Barracks.

He said that, even though he always hoped the dog would be found alive, he was resigned to the possibility that he would never see her again.

The dog will be assessed in February to see if she can return to work.