ROYAL CITY - To go from Washington state down to Nebraska, then on to Iowa and Pennsylvania, over to Maryland and then back to Washington in the span of just two weeks can be a grueling trip in itself for most humans.

But in this case, the cross-country journey was made by Penny, a seven-month old Vizsla puppy that was stolen from her Royal City family right before Christmas. She's on her way home now, thanks to the power of the Internet and the generosity of people thousands of miles from Penny's home state.

Penny became a part of Kendra and Colt Brown's family about five months ago, when the couple picked her up from a Quincy breeder. It didn't take long for Penny to grow on her new owners, and vice versa, said Kendra Brown.

"She's always been very energetic and full of life," said Brown. "One thing they say about Vizslas is that they don't sleep, they just recharge - which is so true for Penny."

One thing Penny especially loved to do was go with Colt to work, she said. Her husband works on a family farm, said Brown, which gave Penny more than enough room to run around and explore.

"She just roamed about, but she always came back," said Brown.

But on Dec. 19, Penny hadn't shown back up. The Browns searched for Penny until late in the night, but couldn't find her.

"It was scary, our first thought was that she had gotten injured somehow and couldn't walk back," said Brown. That worried them, she said, because it was cold and they weren't sure if Penny would survive a night outside alone.

"We were really beat up about it," she said.

The next day, they posted a note about Penny on Adams County Pet Rescue's Facebook page. That turned out to be a smart move, because the Browns received their first tip a few hours after posting.

"A lady from Royal City said she saw Penny, she said she saw a truck driver calling for her but he didn't know her name," said Brown.

She said they managed to track down the driver of the truck and eventually made contact with him. The problem, however, was that the driver was now all the way in Nebraska.

"My husband talked to him and asked him to please drop Penny off to a vet or shelter and that we would take care of the rest. We even offered to find one for him," said Brown. "Then we talked to him the next day and he said he wasn't able to find one and that he was now in Iowa."

Another 15 hours went by before they heard from the driver again, she said.

"He just sent a text saying he dropped Penny off with a driver that was heading back to Washington," said Brown. "He said the driver's name was CJ but gave us no other information."

The Browns tried their best to track "CJ" down, but to no avail. At that point, they turned to the Internet to help - hoping a special Facebook page would bring in more leads.

However, there were no new developments leading up to Christmas Day, until a call came in on Christmas Eve, said Brown. It was a good news kind of call, she said, informing them that Penny was safe at a Pennsylvania vet's office (the vet discovered Penny's microchip which led him to the Browns.)

"We realized then that the original driver lied, for whatever reason, he had never passed her off," said Brown. "But it was Christmas Eve and we just found out our dog was safe and alive, that's all that mattered then."

With Penny safe and sound, half their battle was over. But the Browns were now faced with another challenge - how to get Penny from Pennsylvania back home to Washington.

Penny went from the Animal Friends Animal Shelter to the New Hope Vizsla Rescue Group before finally ending up with the Novak family at their home. New Hope staff went above and beyond to help Penny, said Brown, for which she is thankful.

"They took her, found her a foster home to go to while we made travel arrangements," she said. "She loved it at the Novaks, she got to run around and be active and be in a nice home for a few days."

New Hope staff also volunteered to take Penny to the airport so she could catch a flight back to Washington. However, Penny was flying on Alaska Airlines (which donated Penny's ticket to the Brown family after hearing about their story) and the airlines didn't fly out of Pittsburgh.

The nearest airport Penny could fly out of was in Baltimore, so one staff member took Penny halfway and handed her over to another volunteer who took her the rest of the way, said Brown.

Penny arrived in Seattle on January 2. Before her arrival, Brown said they are looking forward to being able to hold Penny in their arms again.

"It's been a really hard road," she said. "We're just happy she's coming home."

Brown said she owes the happy outcome to the many people who have provided tips and offered their support online as well as those who have helped physically by caring for Penny and helping get her home.

"We just are so grateful for the people who have helped us in so many ways," she said. "We're strangers but we have one thing in common, we all just love our pets. They don't know us at all but they helped us get Penny back, we just thank them so much for their generosity."