MILWAUKIE, Ore. – An exotic pet found wandering through Milwaukie and taken in by a couple of concerned teenagers was reunited with its owner Thursday night.

A Gresham man called KGW after seeing the story on TV and he said the exotic animal was his escaped pet.

Photo of a Gresham man's pet Patagonian Cavy.

The man said his parents had been taking care of his rare pet, named Spock, when the little guy somehow got loose between Monday evening and Tuesday morning.

"He’s a great little animal...kind of independent," Braden Voigt told kgw.com. He also sent photos of his pet to prove his ownership.

Slideshow: Owner's pictures of Spock

Voight says he's had Spock for more than a year. He said he raised the Patagoinia Cavy from birth, even bottle-feeding it as a baby.

When he moved from Molalla to Gresham recently, he asked his parents to take Spock.

"They have a larger yard," he said. His parents live in Milwaukie.

The man said he could prove the cavy was his, because of distinctive marks on its body. So KGW set up a meeting with Voight and the young man who found it wandering in Milwaukie earlier in the week.

On Tuesday, 17-year-old Nicco Phillips found what he initially thought was a baby deer sitting in the middle of his Milwaukie street. Looking closer at his discovery, the teen noticed it had a kangaroo-like head.

Slideshow: Photos of teens with Patagonian Cavy

“I thought, what the heck is it?” Phillips said. His girlfriend initially thought it was a large rabbit.

The Milwaukie High School student noticed the exotic animal about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday. Hoping to catch it, he placed an apple nearby.

It took the bait.

“It was letting me pet him but wouldn’t let me grab it,” Phillips said. “It started walking away and I followed and finally grabbed it from behind and picked it up.”

Factoids: What is a Patagonia Cavy?

Phillips took the animal home and wrapped it in a blanket. “He’s been snuggling, holding his head up against me,” Phillips said, on the day he brought it home.

Phillips later put it on a leash.

"He’s not really that tame. He could have been a pet but was maybe left outside in a fenced area," Phillips said.

After meeting Voight Thursday night, Phillips felt confident that he was telling the truth. He said while he had bonded with the exotic pet, he was glad to see him back with his original owner.

So, after a few last strokes, Phillips said goodbye to his furry new friend and Spock returned home.

The Patagonia Cavy -- also known as a Patagonian Mara – is a large rodent native to Central and Southern Argentina.