Airman Has Emotional Reunion With Her Retired K9 Partner After Adopting Him

Thanks to the American Humane Society, retired military working dog Akim was not only able to reunite with his handler, Senior Airman Jenna Canada, but also found a forever home with her.

While it isn’t always typical for military dogs to go home with their handlers, Jenna knew that she couldn’t be without her beloved Akim.

“Leaving him was the last thing I wanted to do,” Jenna told MilitaryKind. “I love this dog, and I was very upset to have to leave him, and knowing that he was still going to be over there.”

Jenna was paired with Akim when her first dog was deemed medically unable to work any longer. She and Akim didn’t mesh well together at first, mostly because she was missing her first dog.

But when Akim swallowed a bee and had an allergic reaction, everything changed. He went unresponsive and Jenna immediately carried his 70-pound lifeless body in her arms and rushed him to the vet.

While at the vet, he became unresponsive two different times, but thankfully doctors were able to bring him back.

After that scary ordeal, Jenna realized that Akim was who she was meant to be paired with. She could see the fight in his arms and knew he was meant to be there.

The two were deployed to South Korea together, and their bond grew each day until they became completely inseparable.

When her deployment was ending, she found out that Akim was retiring.

She knew she wanted him to have the best life and see things that he never got to see since he has been in Korea for so long.

And she knew she could be the one to give him that.

So, she started a long eight-month process to bring him home to her. With help from the American Humane Society, she was successful.

“He makes me so happy,” Jenna said. “I love coming home to him every day.”

Now Akim gets to live the rest of his life with his best friend by his side.

Hear more about their heartwarming story in the video below: