Airports are home to so many heartwarming reunions and this one was no exception!
When U.S. Army Specialist Vance McFarland was deployed in Afghanistan, he had a very special furry soldier by his side. A Czech Shepherd named Ikar helped McFarland detect explosive devices.
Once their deployment ended, McFarland had to say goodbye to his best friend. Ikar got sent back into the training program, but wound up in a shelter for 17 months because he wasn’t needed at the time.
Kristen Maurer, president of Mission K9 Rescue, heard about Ikar’s awful fate at the shelter and decided to do everything she could to help him. After all, Ikar is a war hero and deserved much better treatment!
In order to get Ikar out of the shelter, Maurer wanted to find his original handler. Soon after, McFarland was surprised to see Facebook messages from people asking him if he was once deployed with Ikar.
McFarland was upset to hear that Ikar had been stuck in a shelter, but was beyond thrilled at the thought of reuniting with him. Mission K9 Rescue flew Ikar out to McFarland so the two could be together again.
McFarland feared that Ikar wouldn’t recognize him after three years apart, but their tear-jerking reunion at the airport proved otherwise! As soon as Ikar saw his old partner, he raced toward him with lots of tail wags. See their reunion for yourself in the video below, but make sure you have some tissues on hand first!