![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/kMLYoGUw.jpeg.jpg\")
Eventually, their time together ended, and in February 2022, Fletcher and Dasty parted ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fletcher said he knew it was coming, since Fletcher was leaving the Army and Dasty was still in working shape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, Fletcher said it was incredibly difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He returned to the States and moved to Green Bay, Wisconsin, with his family, forging a new life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But he kept tabs on his canine buddy, getting updates from a Dasty\u2019s new handler, who was a friend of Fletcher\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then, in 2024, Fletcher heard through the grapevine that Dasty was finally retiring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fletcher\u2019s wife urged him to reach out to American Humane, an organization whose Military Working Dog Reunification Program reconnects retired military dogs with their previous handlers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
American Humane helped get the ball rolling and eventually, on Oct. 12, 2024, Dasty and Fletcher met for the first time in nearly two years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was kind of nervous,\u201d Fletcher said. \u201cI didn\u2019t know if he was going to be the same dog.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fletcher met a handler from American Humane and Dasty at an Airbnb in Green Bay, Wisconsin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At first, Fletcher said Dasty was attached to the handler and paid little attention to him. But after the handler stepped away, Fletcher said they picked up right where they left off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI started giving him commands and that\u2019s when it clicked,\u201d Fletcher said. \u201cThat was pretty much it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though it was his same old friend, there were subtle differences, Fletcher said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
War had changed Dasty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He was still the dog Fletcher had known, but he was also more skittish, his temperament more serious. He nipped sometimes. But the carefree, outgoing dog was underneath it all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Fletcher joined the Army in 2015, he never imagined he\u2019d be a dog handler. Initially, he wanted to work as a Military Police, but when he was told that a Military Working Dog Handler position opened up – a rare occurrence, Fletcher said – he jumped at the opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He never knew he\u2019d get a lifelong friend out of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dasty is a full part of the Fletcher family now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fletcher says Dasty even recognizes Fletcher\u2019s scent on his son, whose also grown close to the dog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The two are inseparable, to the point that sometimes Dasty even annoys him, Fletcher said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More than anything, Fletcher was excited to let Dasty kick his feet up and relax.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNow he\u2019s ready to be on our couch and get fat,\u201d Fletcher said. \u201cHe did a lot of stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Army Sgt. Michael Fletcher remembers tasting Dasty’s slobber in a shared water bowl, describing the experience as a “bonding moment.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":87237,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":70,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["your-military","news"],"primary_category":"your-military"},"4":{"categories":["your-air-force","newsletters","daily-news-roundup","news"],"primary_category":"your-air-force"},"6":{"categories":["your-marine-corps","daily-news-roundup","newsletters","news"],"primary_category":"your-marine-corps"},"7":{"categories":["your-navy","news"],"primary_category":"your-navy"}}},"categories":[100,12,25,70],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3414],"class_list":["post-50044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-army"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"EXIH4QUJTBAB3OPKKCEONHVDIQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-army\/2024\/10\/30\/army-dog-handler-reunites-with-bomb-sniffing-buddy-after-years-apart\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n