The hardest part of having a loved one in the military is having to be separated from them when they’re deployed elsewhere. It’s painful to not be in the physical presence of a person you care about. To make matters worse, if your loved one has a particularly dangerous job in the military, the thought of something horrible happening to them frequently crosses your mind the entire time they’re away.
It’s not just humans who feel hurt when someone they care about is deployed miles away. Pets, too, often feel the same way, which is apparent in a viral story where a dog named Brindle becomes depressed when his man friend, JD Aument, was deployed overseas.
Brindle had been apart of the Aument household since JD and his wife Rachel adopted him from a shelter when he was a tiny pup. The household already had another dog, Xavier, who was considered Rachel’s dog. Brindle, however, became particularly attached to JD, so in 2018 when the serviceman was sent far away for several weeks for his military job, you bet that his canine back home didn’t feel the same.
Even before JD left, Brindle knew his favorite owner was leaving, whimpering as he saw him pack all of his things before heading out the door. The longer the dog went without JD, the further his depression developed. He experienced loss of energy, no longer enjoyed going on walks, and had difficulty eating. He also slept more frequently.
According to Rachel, Brindle was “so sad without him here.” The poor dog was missing a piece of his heart when JD left. “He loves me, don’t get me wrong, but I’m not his person. He has days where he just sits at the front window, crying,” JD’s wife continues.
While the serviceman would call home every now and then, Brindle didn’t seem to recognize his voice. He didn’t his human to be there in person. That’s when JD came up with a great idea: he’d send one of his used shirts home to comfort his distraught dog.
Immediately when Rachel opened the package, the dog became alert: he recognized that smell! After placing the shirt on the ground, Brindle kept snuggling with and rubbing his face against his best friend’s sweaty garment.
Rachel was touched by how much Brindle enjoyed the shirt that she was crying as she was recording. JD, too, teared up over the video his wife recorded.
What a change to see a dog go from gloomy to thrilled all over the scent of his loving owner! Although the couple’s other dog, Xavier, also recognized the scent, it was clear that this moment was particularly special for Brindle, so much so that Brindle hogged the shirt and refused to let his canine brother get a chance to give it some snuggles too.
The shirt would give Brindle peace of mind until JD would return home a few months later.
See Brindle’s emotional reaction to his owner’s shirt in the clip below!
