Army Specialist Vance McFarland and his four-legged K9 brother, Ikar, served in Afghanistan together. Ikar worked alongside McFarland and his team as a Tactical Explosive Detection Dog that located roadside bombs. But once retired, they were separated. After trying for nearly three years to reunite with his loyal K9 partner, McFarland finally succeeded.
“Sometimes were good, sometimes were stressful,” he told KTVB News. “Having Ikar definitely made it a lot better. Having a dog with you on deployment is almost like having a little bit of home.”
After they got back from deployment, Ikar was sent to an independent contractor who said they had work for the dog, but sadly, they failed to follow through. Ikar lived in a kennel without any work for almost 17 months. Mission K9 Rescue stepped in to find the pooch a loving home – in the process, they flooded McFarland’s Facebook page with messages about Ikar’s whereabouts. When McFarland figured out that his partner had been abandoned and then saved, he wasted no time in adopting him.
The following video shows us their reunion! You can see how nervous yet excited McFarland is at the prospect of seeing his friend once again! “He is going to live the rest of his retired life spoiled,” McFarland told KTVB. “Really spoiled.” Ikar now lives with McFarland and his family in Idaho. He even has two other doggie siblings to play with!
Check out their reunion below!
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