The connection between a (wo)man and his dog is a precious thing and not something that can be broken easily, and especially not by distance. This theory was put to the test when Afghanistan war veteran Joshua Baines was reunited with his dogs after being temporarily separated by several thousand miles.
Joshua suffers from PTSD and was forced to move across country, from Louisiana to California, as a result of his condition. There were nights, according to the Air Force war vet, when he would sleep in his closet because it was the only place he felt safe. After 7 months of trying to get himself together, he decided that a fresh start in California was what he needed. However, at the time, he couldnโt take his dogs Panda and Momma with him.
For Joshua, his pups are more than just companionsโthey are the very creatures who help him to feel connected to this world. Joshua explained that when he returned home from war, he just felt so alone and isolated. โJust going from a war zone to civilian lifeโyou feel totally isolated, totally alone. You feel cut off from everything. My dogs were the only โpeopleโ that were there for me.โ So when he had to leave them behind when he moved, he was devastated. โEveryday I wake up without [my dogs] snuggled up underneath me is a strange day. Every day I donโt have to walk a dog is a wrong day,โ he shares. HiโTheyโre my dogs, theyโre my pack, theyโre my family!โ In essence, they are his lifeline. So being separated from them was possibly the worst thing that could have happened.
Joshua was separated from his pups for a two full months before Mariah Harmony of Animal Planetโs Pit Bulls and Parollees brought the dogs all the way from LA to CA. According to her, the dogs were just as devastated by the separation as their owner, refusing to eat much the entire time they were in her care. She hoped, not only for Joshuaโs sake but also for Panda and Mommaโs sakes, that the reunion was a happy one. She needed have worried.
As soon as Panda and Momma spotted Joshua in the parking lot, their tails started wagging like crazy. The reunion is one that will move you to tears, just like it moved Mariahโwho is accustomed to seeing these types of reunionsโto tears.
โI was a little nervous they werenโt going to remember me,โ admits a teary-eyed Joshua. โIโm sure anyone whoโs ever been away from their dogs is terrified of that.โ
But it is clear, as Momma and Panda jump all over their long-lost owner and give him hugs and kisses, that forgetting him is something that could never happen.
โI was definitely a little more emotional than I though I was going to be,โ says Mariah, who is in awe of the transformation she sees in the pups. โI have not seen them like this AT ALL!โ she exclaims.
Mariah hits the nail on the head with the following statement: โYou canโt break that bond someone has with their dog. And itโs only between themโitโs like a mother and her child. You canโt break that bond.โ
And itโs so very true. If youโve ever questioned the strength of the bond between a dog and his ownerโor if youโve always believed it existed but never had the evidence to prove itโhereโs your proof. Before you watch this heartwarming video, be warned: it will move you to tears!
And if you were worried, Momma and Panda finally ate some food!
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