Comrades in arms are reunited after bonding on deployment
It's rare that military working dogs get to go home to their handlers after retiring. Happily, there are a few exceptions.
The story of Senior Airman Jenna Canada and her military working dog, Akim, started when they were deployed together in South Korea. Jenna's first dog had been medically retired, and in the wake of that, her relationship with Akim didn't get off to a great start.
“We weren't meshing at all," Jenna said. "I also wasn't really open to him at first just because (with) my first dog, I had hope that she that was going to get better."
But there was a traumatic moment that would bond the two forever. They were still finding their groove when Akim was stung by a bee he'd accidentally swallowed. His severe allergic reaction was life-threatening.
“Within five minutes, he started vomiting, and then he became unresponsive," Jenna said. "In that moment, I didn't think, I just swooped him up, and I started running with him and rushed into our vet."
With the 70-pound dog in her arms, she made it to the vet just in time. Akim twice became unresponsive, but fought hard to come back each time.
For days during his recovery, Akim could not go home, and Jenna did not leave his side. She even slept in the kennel with him, just to make sure he was OK.
From then on, the two were inseparable.
“After that whole, his medical injury, everything just, it seemed right," Jenna said. "Like he wasn't ready to go, and you could see that, and he was a fighter, and I wasn't ready for him to go either. In that moment, I was like, you're not going anywhere. You're mine, you're going to stay with me. I love you. That's when I realized I really love this dog. I'm like, he's amazing.”
Because of what Akim when through, he lost his sight, though he eventually gained part of it back. Then, as her deployment was ending, Jenna was surprised to learn that Akim was retiring.
She thought it was too good to be true, and immediately started the process of bringing her best friend home to her.
“No one is going to care as much about him as me," Jenna said at the time.
It was an eight-month process to get approval to transport Akim more than 6,000 miles to his forever home in Kirtland, New Mexico, with his loving handler.
Finally, with the help of the American Humane Society, the two were reunited.
“I just want him to have the best life and, you know, get to see things that he never really got to see because he was out in Korea for so long,” Jenna explained. “He makes me so happy. I love coming home to him every day.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Brave military duo reunites for best reason
