About ten years ago, Michael Sawyer had to give up his dog, Smokey.
He did not want to. Life simply got in the way, the way it sometimes does, and he could no longer give the pit bull the home he deserved.
But Michael did not just hand Smokey over to the first person who asked.
He met family after family. He turned several of them down. He even went to people’s houses to see for himself where his dog would be living. Only when he was sure did he say yes.
It was the right choice. Over the years, Smokey’s new family kept sending Michael photos and little updates. Smokey was happy. Smokey was loved.
Still, Michael never forgot him.
Ten years went by. Then Michael got the chance to visit his old friend. His wife, Susanna Green-Sawyer, came along and filmed the moment on her phone.
Smokey was 16 by then. That is a very old age for a pit bull. His face had gone grey, and he moved slowly.
Michael had no idea what to expect. Would Smokey even know who he was? Ten years is most of a dog’s life.
He did not have to wonder for long.
The moment Smokey saw him, the old dog made his way straight over to Michael and leaned his whole body against him. The way dogs do with their favourite person.
Michael knelt down. He gave Smokey a treat. Then he wrapped his arms around him, and the two of them just stayed like that for a long time.
“I missed you, buddy,” Michael told him through his tears.
Susanna posted the video online, and it spread around the world. Millions of people watched an old dog lean into a man he had not seen in a decade, and a grown man cry like a boy.
Many viewers said the same thing: Michael had done right by his dog. He found Smokey a family who loved him for ten years, and he never stopped caring.
Susanna admitted she had been surprised herself.
“After all that time has passed,” she wrote. “Guess dogs never forget, huh?”
Do you believe a dog can remember someone after ten years? Tell us in the comments.
