Updated

A German court has weighed in on a tale of enduring puppy love: it's sending Lulu the dachshund back to her old life as Bonny.

The dog was 9 months old when a Munich couple found her alone at a highway junction near Berlin in 2012.

A dog breeder they consulted two years later notified her original owner that the dachshund his wife had given him for his 70th birthday had turned up.

The couple says they tried to find the puppy's owners. But news agency dpa reports the Potsdam state court ruled Wednesday they had acted illegally by failing to inform the proper authorities.

The court says the dog must be returned once the Munich couple is paid 3,271.16 euros ($3,630) to cover food, veterinary care and other costs.