Meeting a stranger who will eventually become one’s best friend and an important part of one’s life is something one can never predict when, how, or where it will happen or who it will be. Out of billions of people on earth, that one person or canine would eventually mean so much to you that you would move heaven into earth and earth into heaven when the need arises just to make the person happy and comfortable in their day-to-day life. Some call it friendship, some love but here, we call it comradeship and bromance.
Such is the story of this duo, Hugo, a German shepherd, and his handler, Joe who found themselves embracing brotherhood in a supposedly unusual place to do so but what better way is there to meet someone or a canine who would be the best companion to one than where one would show his/her vulnerabilities when the curtains drop at night?
SERGEANT HUGO.
This might seem more like fiction to some as the unbelievable love that exists between these two may cause a raise of eyebrow but many who have seen the love that could exist between human and their canine companions would believe this is yet another great example of the awesome friendship that had grown between the two populace so walk with us through this beautiful journey of love and support in friendship.
Hugo was always destined to be a K-9 as he was born and bred in the four walls of the military barracks bordering his country, making him one of the 13% of dogs who ended up as military dogs providing their services hand in hand with their handler to protect and defend the nation. Hugo was trained in the ways of the military, something he would do for years. He went through the rigorous process of training in obedience to basic commands such as “stay”, “sit” and “come”. He was also trained to be socialized to learn new sounds, confident and calm in new environments as well as in meeting new people and specialized skills training such as explosive detection, patrolling, and tracking.
He was exceptional in his training as he had always shown his intelligence to his handler who was proud of him and how he showed that his training had been taken by him excellently well.
Unfortunately, his handler died in combat and the need to change his handler arose but the unexpected occurrence was that no one wanted to be his handler as they thought he was timid and frail from trying to cope without his handler and wouldn’t survive the forefront of wars compared to the training he had received. People slowly turned him into a noncapable K-9 who would endanger their lives rather than help them out and be a burden on the platoon or squad depending on which he was deployed but one of the soldiers who had seen his prowess and skills volunteered to be paired with him because he found it ironic that they would say that because she had the best nose out of all the dogs at the barracks and not only that but also was one of the dogs who had what it took to be at the battlefield along with the comrades of his squad and he had always admire her intelligence and keenness to training.
And as such fate brought them together, they were deployed to Iran not knowing that they would become best friends.
HUGO AND HIS BEST FRIEND.
Hugo soon got certified as a bomb-detection dog and both of them got to work, patrolling and bonding, something that’s not rare between a handler and his dog. The duo were always together, slowly becoming the best of friends who understood each other’s emotions and feelings, it was such a surreal experience to see the duo when they were together as they do everything together and sync sometimes too. Together at the war front, they were a force to reckon with, when Joe commands, he obeys and Joe rewards him after and praises him for a job well done. This bromance was soon cut off as Hugo was retired due to old age but as you might have thought, his handler who knew they could no longer do without each other decided to adopt him and bring him along to his home so they could spend the rest of their lives together. They were excited to be with one another again, Joe got everything that would be needed to help him have fun in civilian settings. They both went to the store to pick a toy for him and got a bed and all the necessities, Hugo was happy to be doing the picking along with Joe, his best friend but the problem arose when they finally settled home into the daily activities of civilian dogs. The transition from a military dog to the boring day-to-day life of living as a civilian dog who doesn’t have to go on patrol but walks, who doesn’t have to detect explosives but plays with his toys and playing fetch was taking a toll on our dear Hugo who has always been a military dog and didn’t know what else to do with himself.
Usually, one would expect him to easily embrace civilian life though might be suffering from PTSD from the waterfront but that wasn’t the case for Hugo, Joe realized that the civilian life bored him out as he soon wasn’t interested in their play anymore. He didn’t want to play fetch nor did he respond to plays that Joe initiated in or out of their home.
As a best friend would do, Joe tried to cheer him up in every way he thought possible, playing him guitar, involving him in all his activities, and so on but nothing seemed to work out to get Hugo to play and engage more in what they were doing. Hugo would rather want to smell something out as if he was trying to solve a mystery which was typical as he was a retired bomb detector. As a devoted friend who would go the extra length for his best friend, Joe soon came up with the idea of making something similar to what he detects and hides it so he would become more active and less gloomy.
The first time he tried it, he hid it in the garage and asked Hugo to search, he ran excitedly to find what it was that he had hidden. When Hugo found it, he came back to Joe as he was confused about what was going on, after realizing what it was, he stared at his best friend’s face with gratitude in his eyes and they hugged each other and Hugo licked his face to show him he was indeed grateful. Joe was happy he could eventually get to him even though it wasn’t a bomb, he was only missing the adrenaline rush of battlefields and Hugo was happy about this gesture.
Joe was soon doing it everywhere they went and when he detected them, he would hide it in stores they went when they were trying to pick up something for the house, at dog parks, and everywhere they went and he would be rewarded with toys and treats. He started looking forward to going out with his best friend and also performing the activities so he could get to detect them at the end of the day. Joe would shower him with love and tell him how proud of him he was.
It’s a no-brainer that he would become his old perky self and this made Joe happy because his happiness lies in his. Getting him excited also brought more joy to Joe’s life just as much as it made Hugo active and bouncing once again.
The duo became even closer than before and they became inseparable. This friendship brings joy to everyone’s heart and even moves some to tears. Dogs are surely and truly man’s best friend and will continue to owe up to this title as they have the biggest heart to love us and some humans, despite the downsides that we see in abandoned dogs or tortured dogs today, proves that they would go every length for their dog-companion who had shown them in every way they loved them and would always be loyal to them.
Joe and Hugo still live their best life as the best friends that they were and we’re happy to see it. Joe continues to help Hugo adjust to civilian life and keeps hope that one day, Joe will live a normal life without the need for adrenaline rush and simply embrace the beautiful country he had devoted and spent years of his life to protect and defend but till then, they continue to live life to the maximum as much as they can.