Woman Reuniting with 'Soulmate' Dog After 8 Weeks Apart Is Just Too Sweet

For Abigail Martin and her dog Archie, life has been one big adventure. Martin, a digital content creator, first rescued the mixed-breed Archie when she was a teenager, and the two of them have been traveling the country in a van and even living overseas ever since. Despite all her journeys, the one constant in her life has been her “soulmate” dog—the pup who has been with her every step of the way.

Except recently, Martin had to leave poor Archie behind on one of her trips to Europe. She missed him a lot, but it was apparently nothing compared to how much he missed her, as you can see in this heartwarming video.

If you’re given the opportunity to travel to Europe for two months, it can be a hard offer to resist. But it’s tough to leave your stateside life behind, especially if it means finding a caretaker for your beloved dog. Martin was lucky enough that her mom offered to watch her pup for her, but that didn’t mean that she didn’t miss her sweet Archie every day.

Related: Bernese Mountain Dog Reuniting With His Best Friend After 5 Months Is Melting Hearts

And when she returned—well, it was certainly a homecoming to remember.

In the video, Martin sneaks into the house and up to the kitchen, where the dog is waiting. And boy is he happy to see her. Whining and barking in excitement, he rushes toward her, tail wagging furiously. He weaves around her, pressing his body against her and barely able to stand still for excitement. He scampers around, rolling and flipping and just not entirely sure what to do with himself now that Mom is home. He’s completely overwhelmed.

“So happy to be home with my best friend,” Martin writes in the caption.

After a few minutes, poor Archie gets a better handle on his emotions, and starts sniffing his beloved mom all over.

“Do I smell like Europe?” She asks him jokingly. “Coffee and cigarettes?”

But he doesn’t care what smells she brought home, as long as she’s there again.

Do Dogs Miss Us When We’re Gone?

My vet was fond of saying that dog’s don’t necessarily understand the passage of time. They can get as excited to see you when you’ve been gone three hours as three weeks. But all you have to do is take a quick spin through dog-reunification videos online (make sure to have some tissues handy) to realize that even though dogs may not know exactly how much time has passed since seeing their beloved humans, they keenly feel the absence in their own, canine way.

Dogs have even been shown to recognize littermates they haven’t seen since they were puppies.

And this is not a new concept. In Ancient Greece, no less a poet than Homer himself wrote about the persistent love and devotion between Odysseus’s dog Argos, and his beloved master. Argos waited twenty whole years to see his dad again, and promptly died.

Now that’s devotion.

How to Prepare Your Dog for an Extended Separation

When it becomes necessary to leave your dog for an extended period of time, it’s important that their care arrangements suit their personality. Some dogs do well in kennels or “doggy day care” situations. Others find it extremely stressful. If your dog is used to being visited during the day by a dog sitter, it might work out to have them come over more often or even spend the night. But the best option may be the one Martin went with—which is to have your dog stay with a trusted friend or family member they already know.

Make sure to give your dog plenty of love and attention before you leave, and leave something behind that smells like you. And, don’t worry—you’re coming back.

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