Videos of soldiers and dogs reuniting are always adorable. And one video posted on Reddit is no exception.
The sweet video quickly went viral because of how adorable it is.
Set to the background music “I’m Coming Home,” by Skylar Grey, the soldier walks through his front door to greet his family.
And like so many of us who have needed an extra bit of holiday cheer, they’ve already decorated for their winter holiday of choice. Christmas decorations adorn the door and walls.
In the first few seconds, you might feel like you need to reach for the tissues. Then you can hear giggling in the background.
The soldier is clearly angled to the left side of the frame. And we begin to hear giggling too — the kind of expectant giggling you’d expect from a child that knows there’s a plan afoot.
And let’s just get this out of the way now — we think this soldier has already said hello to his family. In fact, he has no bags at all with him as he walks in the door.
That means the “first” greeting he gets upon walking in is from none other than his very best bud — his dog.
Unlike children, you can’t really explain to a dog what’s going on. Pretty much every surprise is a real surprise. And we already know how they feel about people coming home in general. It’s basically the best thing that happens to them every single day.
However, this dog had no idea dad was coming home. That’s why it’s pretty funny when he just goes trotting by like a new house guest is no big deal.
The dog seems to realize someone’s at the door, but since the family is home, he doesn’t seem concerned about who they might be having over.
So the pup just keeps going and dad’s left to stand there like “really, dude?”
It all takes a few seconds to click, but whether the dog sees dad out of the corner of its eye or recognizes a familiar scent, it suddenly realizes just who is home! IT’S DAD!
And the comical canine comes to a screeeeeching halt.
In fact, the front of his body stops before the back of it does, and there’s some skidding around as the pup tries to get all four paws on the ground.
This is some cartoon-level scrambling!
Then, the pup manages to turn tail and take a run at dad. This is clearly the best day ever!
And we all know what happens next. The dog jumps up onto dad like the love of its life is home from war and covers him in kisses.
There’s still the small matter of that kid giggling in the background.
We’re pretty sure this is precisely the moment the family was waiting for, and once it took place, the kiddo was allowed back into the shot.
The dog, sensing a competitor for attention, just full-on jumps up into dad’s arms like “nope, this WHOLE hug is taken, kid.”
Some worried that the dad was favoring the pup over the little boy. But most likely, the soldier’s son and wife met him at the airport and already had their big reunion.
They wanted to give the dog his own moment. And boy does that pup take it!
He looks into dad’s eyes like, “is it really you?!”
Of course, you’re welcome to interpret at will. We’d be pretty stoked to see our dog after returning home from deployment.
But don’t worry — the kid gets a hug too.
And then, not wanting to be outdone, the pup asks for another hug. How sweet.
Check out the adorable video for yourself below!
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