Bogi is a retired military dog who has just been reunited with her beloved handler, U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant Angela Cardone, after one year apart.

Bogi and Angela, 22, first met back in 2017, when they trained together at the Marine Corps Air Station in Iwakuni, Japan. There, Angela helped the Belgian Malinois master her skills, which include narcotics detection, safety sweeps, and vehicle searches.

Over the fifteen months that they were partners, Bogi and Angela formed an incredibly close bond, with the Marine even considering the dog to be her “best friend” and “daughter,” according to People Magazine.

All was going well until Angela was reassigned to Hawaii, and she sadly did not even get to say goodbye to Bogi before she had to leave for her reassignment. Over the past eighteen months that they were separated, Angela was afraid that she and Bogi would never see each other again.

“It kind of felt like a piece of me was missing,” Angela recalled.

Everything changed in June of last year, when Angela heard that Bogi had gotten a neck injury that required her to take a medical retirement. Angela knew instantly that she wanted to give Bogi a loving forever home, so she contacted American Humane, an organization that aims to help animals. American Humane has a branch that is dedicated to reuniting military dogs with their former handlers, and then helping their humans tackle the oftentimes complicated adoption process.

After months of work, American Humane was finally able to make the adoption official, and Bogi and Angela were reunited for the first time in over a year on February 16!

“The first few moments of seeing Bogi … it was indescribable. I never thought that this day would actually come so it’s just a really heartwarming type of feeling,” Angela said afterwards.

It was obvious to everyone that Bogi remembered Angela right away, and the pair set off to start their new life in Hawaii together.

“It feels wonderful. Like a huge weight has been lifted off my chest,” she added. “I’ve been thinking about this pretty much since the day I left her.”

American Humane was touched by this reunion as well.

“American Humane is honored to bring Bogi home to reunite with her best friend, Sgt. Angela Cardone. We are thrilled to give Bogi the dignified, comfortable retirement she deserves. Sgt. Cardone and Bogi made so many sacrifices in service to our country. Bringing them back together is the least we can do in return.” said Dr. Robin Ganzert, president and CEO of American Humane.