A San Antonio soldier was reunited with his battle buddy K9 just in time for the holidays after two years apart.
Staff Sgt. Payton May was ready to leave the Army in 2020 until he found the K9 Dog Handler MOS — a job he didn’t know existed, calling it a “unicorn job” according to a statement from American Humane.
After completion of his training, he met his new battle buddy, Yyacob, a Belgian Malinois and a trained patrol-explosives detection dog.
The two were paired up to work together. Yyacob was May’s first dog, but it was the opposite for the K9 — May was his second handler. The two bonded and were swiftly deployed to Iraq for nine months in July 2021.
“After a while working with each other and going on secret service missions and going on deployment, we was able to come together and build that trust,” May said. “We mix together just well.”
Along with the stress of being deployed, May experienced some loneliness for his first time out of country. But having Yyacob eased some of those feelings, and they became each other’s “person,” according to American Humane.
After their time overseas, May was reassigned to Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in 2022. He said it was “heartbreaking” to separate from Yyacob. The pair spent day in and day out together when on deployment, from sharing a twin-sized bed to patrolling for explosives.
The sudden separation after their deployment left both of them affected emotionally.
“It was kind of heartbreaking, to be honest with you, because I've already built that ... work bond with him, also built that personal bond,” May explained. “Because right when I separated from him, I was coming back from a nine-month deployment.”
Yyacob experienced separation anxiety and struggled to bond with another handler. Ultimately, the dog was deemed unable to be paired with another handler, and it was left in the hands of a caretaker at Fort Drum, New York.
For two years, May begged the Army to let his best friend reunite with him, especially after learning the dog wasn’t working anymore.
This year, the pair were finally reunited after Yyacob retired at eight years old, after seven years of service with help from American Humane, who May reached out to after this friend, another K9 handler, worked with them to reunite him with his military dog.
“It fills my heart to see him again,” May said. “It just feels like we picked up right where we left off.”
May added this is their second Thanksgiving together — their first they spent in Iraq together. “It feels really nice to get my cuddle buddy back home.”
