U.S Army Specialist, Vance McFarland, is waiting eagerly for the arrival of his war comrade, a Czech Shepherd war dog, Ikar. They haven’t seen each other for three years, since their return from Afghanistan.

“Hope he remembers me”, says hopefully Vance. The two friends were deployed together to Afghanistan back in 2012. Ikar was trained as a tactical explosive detection dog and along with Vance, they would find roadside bombs. “Having a dog with you on deployment it’s almost like having a little bit of home,” says the emotionally charged voice of Vance, who goes on and explains how lucky he felt having Ikar at his side during his service and how all of his comrades wanted to have a dog like him.

Back in 2012, when both Vance and Ikar returned back from their service, they were quickly separated, having time only to take a photo together. Immediately after this, Ikar was sent back to the TEDD program and then back to Afghanistan.

When Ikar had officially retired from the army, he was supposed to work at a private company. However, the arrangement didn’t go through and he was instead sent to a kennel. Although his stay there was supposed to be temporary, the poor Ikar was abandoned at the kennel and spent nearly seventeen months there.

Luckily for both friends, Mission K9 Rescue in cooperation with the U.S War Dog Association was there to intervene, rescuing Ikar and reuniting him with Vance. As Vance jokes, one day he woke up and he was “Facebook stalked” by groups and organizations that were asking him if he was Ikar’s handler. Thanks to them, Ikar was rescued and adopted by Vance.

There are more cases of working dogs out there similar to Ikar’s case. Fortunately for them, Mission K9 Rescue is there to help them. Mission K9 is an important non-profit organization that rescues, rehabilitated, and re-homes retired working dogs. They were the ones that found Ikar at the kennel and eventually ten more pups, and they were able to unite them with their previous owners.

Being deployed, being at warzone, and experiencing all these horrific incidents can be highly traumatic for all these brave men and women, fighting for their country. As Kristen Maurer, President of Mission K9 Rescue explains emotionally, “we don’t understand that they all come back a little bit broken”, however when these people are reunited with their service dogs “it’s like a piece of them put back together”. It is scientifically proven that service dogs can help immensely veterans, suffering from emotional and psychological stress.

As Vance hoped Ikar not only remembered him but he sprinted down the hall right into Vance’s open arms. What a beautiful and moving scene! The reunion of two friends that after facing the difficulties of war, are now ready to embark on a new more peaceful adventure together.

Vance and his wife, who are already proud owners of two other dogs, are eager to take Ikar home and give him all the love and care he deserves. Of course, let’s not forget all the toys that wait for him at his new home.