Soldiers have a very strong bond with their military dogs. Serving and training side-by-side, day after day, enables them to form a very close relationship. Learning to trust each other with their lives only deepens that friendship.
Sadly, when soldiers retire for whatever reason, the dogs continue to serve in the military and are assigned a new handler until they are ready to retire. Fortunately, when they do, they are often able to be adopted. If the timing and circumstances are right, they can sometimes return to a previous handler.
Those are the happiest reunions imaginable for both dog and veteran. Even after years of being apart, both fondly remember each other and have a chance to reignite their friendship. This video is about one such reunion story.
After two years of being apart, Sargent Tom Hansen waits at the airport to be reunited with his previous dog, Taylor. As he nervously waits, he recalls their time together and hopes that his dog will remember him. Finally, the flight arrives, and they’re tearfully reunited.
Taylor is a yellow Labrador retriever that served alongside Sargent Hanson. After training to be a dog handler, he deployed to Afghanistan, where he met Taylor for the first time. Initially, he had no idea the close bond the two would form.
Taylor was a bomb-sniffing dog trained to locate explosives in all types of environments. On their very first mission together, they searched a mountain pass. That was the first time Hanson realized how much he could trust Taylor, who detected an IUD buried within an inch of his foot, thus saving his life.
That trust grew into a very special bond. They served on many dangerous missions together and Sargent Hanson credits Taylor with saving his life numerous times. Because of her, he came back alive after two deployments in Afghanistan.
When Sargent Hanson retired Taylor remained on duty and was assigned to a new soldier. He returned to the United States and was stationed in Missouri where he soon became engaged and moved to Boise, Idaho.
In the meantime, two years passed. Taylor turned 10 years old and was retired from duty. It was then Sargent Hanson began the journey to adopt Taylor, but it wasn’t easy, and he didn’t have the funds to pay for all the arrangements.
Happily, a flight attendant who had helped other veterans in these situations learned of the situation and stepped in to help. Even though Taylor was a senior dog when he finally adopted her, Hanson was determined to make the rest of her days happy.
Their special story goes even beyond themselves because now he helps other veterans reunite with their dogs. We hope you enjoyed their tearful reunions. As always, please feel free to share with your friends.
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