Animals often have a lot of heart. This dog was abandoned at the airport. What it did next will leave you in tears.
Thomas was getting ready to go on his last deployment in the service. His heart broke a little when he saw his dog sulking next to his bed. This deployment was unexpected; he thought he had already done the final one before retirement. But now he had one last mission, and then he could come home to Radar forever. It would only be a few months, but he was more worried about the dog than normal.
His parents would normally take care of Radar while he was away, but they had planned a big trip they had always dreamt of because they thought he would be home. They wanted to change their plans, but he wouldn’t do that to them. Some of his friends offered to take care of Radar; one of them almost insisted. He wasn’t completely happy with leaving his best friend with this guy since he had been a bit flaky in the past.
But Thomas also liked to give people the benefit of the doubt. The friend had changed a lot and had been a lot more reliable than he was when they were in their 20s. He even wanted to get his own dog now, so taking care of Radar, who was the most chill dog ever, would be a good trial run. He basically begged Thomas to put his trust in him. Radar did like the guy.
So eventually, Thomas agreed. The friend promised to keep him updated. Now the day had come to say goodbye, and it was not easy. The friend would take Thomas to the airport, and then Radar would have the chance to say goodbye before they went home. He was surprisingly on time to fetch them and to get to the airport. Radar wasn’t as comfortable as he normally was when he left with Thomas’s family, but his friend assured him that he would take good care of the dog. Thomas hugged his dog tight and then handed the dog’s leash over to his friend. Radar tried pulling forward to go with Thomas, but of course, he couldn’t. He moaned when Thomas disappeared.
Then the friend wanted to leave, but the dog wouldn’t leave. Radar laid down, and he refused to move. The friend pulled and tugged, but this was a big dog; getting him to do anything that he didn’t want to do wasn’t going to be all that easy. The friend pulled and tugged on the dog, and he wouldn’t budge at all. Eventually, he tried to pick him up, but the dog just slipped out of his arms, going completely limp and not working with him at all. The friend was getting frustrated; he didn’t care that the dog was just sad.
He didn’t want to argue with the dog. He let go of the leash and moved away, acting like he was leaving. He believed that the dog would watch him go and run after him, but he miscalculated completely. The dog was not interested. As soon as the friend was a small distance away, Radar got up and bolted.
The friend followed him for a short while, but he couldn’t keep up, and he was getting angry and frustrated with the dog. He searched for a while, and then he gave up. If the stubborn dog didn’t want to come with him, then he wasn’t going to beg. Then he just left. It was only on the car ride home that he thought of the fact that he would have to tell Thomas he had abandoned his dog at the airport. He decided he just wouldn’t tell him. He was only coming home in a few months; he would simply tell him that the dog had run away just before Thomas got home.
If he had just followed Radar for a little while longer, he would have seen where the dog was headed. Radar had come to the airport with Thomas and his parents a few times in the past; he knew where his human dad would come from, and he ran straight to the arrival gate to wait for him. But the poor pup didn’t know his dad wouldn’t be coming through those gates for a long time. He quietly laid down at the gate and just kept waiting. He didn’t bother anyone. A few children came past, and some of them scratched his head; he happily allowed it. But he wouldn’t go with them when they tried to pull on his leash. He was waiting for his person, and he wouldn’t move.
Tanya was one of the airport security delivery directors in the airport. As she walked around in the airport, she saw the dog a few times. She went over to him and gave him a snack and some scratches. Hours later, he was still there. She went to all the different airlines, making sure they didn’t misplace a pup. Even the airlines that had a pet transport service had no idea whose dog it was. They were certain, though, that the dog wasn’t one they were supposed to have in their care. Tanya could see that he was waiting for someone. He was clearly a well-cared-for pup, and he even still had his leash and collar attached. She didn’t know how he got there, but she wanted to help him.
All night she thought of the dog. The next day, she went to arrivals, and sure enough, he was right where she left him. The sad dog was probably tired and hungry, so she spoke to him softly and asked if she could give him a snack. That got his attention. He got up, and with his head hanging, he followed her. She had a big office with her own private courtyard outside. It was fenced and even had a small patch of grass. He could safely go outside without ending up on a runway. In her office, she gave him food and water. Then she took off his leash; a few days later, she would take off his harness too. He could be more comfortable and not get stuck somewhere.
She left the doors open for the next few days and fed Radar, who she just called dog for now, there every day. He knew to go out into the courtyard when he wanted to potty. He also took naps there when the airport ran empty, and there was no hope of his dad returning. Tanya tried to get him to go home with her a few times; he would walk with her to the door and then refuse to go any further. He wasn’t leaving without his person. Tanya gave up for now.
The dog wasn’t bothering anyone or making noise; even more importantly, he was safe for the moment. Everyone around the airport started to get attached to him. It did help that it was a small airport, and they could bend the rules a little; a bigger place would have never allowed it. For now, he could stay where he wanted to be.
After a few days, he was still there, and he slept in her office. So she bought him a dog bed for the office and a pillow for the arrivals terminal where he was still spending most of his day waiting. When she called him, he would walk around the airport with Tanya, and she took him to the animal shipping service since they had a scanner to check for a microchip. It was great news when they found that he was chipped. They could see that his name was Radar; the dog got all excited when they started calling him by his name. But they could also see who the owner was and find Thomas’s phone number and address.
Tanya phoned him at once, but he was way off the grid and had no signal. There was no way that she would be able to reach him by phone. Poor Thomas still had no clue what was going on; it was probably a good thing because if he knew his dog was missing, it could have been dangerous for his focus. His parents had phoned his friend, but he just assured them that everything was going well.
But while all that was going on, Tanya was trying to find his family. She went to the address they found on the chip, but everything was closed up tightly. It was clear no one was home. She tried to knock anyway, but a neighbor came past and let her know that Thomas was deployed. It made sense.
She still had no idea how Radar had come to the airport, but at least now she knew exactly who he was waiting for, and she was determined to look after him while Thomas was away. Sometimes humans can surprise you. The airport team came together to take care of the dog and made sure he felt a lot of love. He stuck close to Tanya, and he kept living in her office. But everyone worked together to give him attention at the same time.
They were amazed at how awesome and sweet the dog was. As he got more comfortable living in the airport, he started allowing everyone to give him attention and love. He loved kids, and he would play with them and distract them waiting for their flight. But sometimes he did things that were even more remarkable. This was a dog that was abandoned at the airport, but he remained loving. What he did next will leave you in tears.
One day, a woman sat waiting for the departure gates to open. She was crying quietly but trying to respect her privacy. No one went closer to comfort her, but Radar didn’t care about privacy or being discreet. He could sense the woman’s distress, and he came closer right away. He licked her fingers, and she hugged him and cried into his fur.
She was young and very scared; it was the girl’s first time working and living away from home, but now her family had phoned, and her father was suddenly extremely sick. They didn’t know if he would make it, and she had to get home immediately. She was all alone and scared, and the dog sensed her fear. He gave her the love that she so desperately needed in those moments; he just sat next to her while she hugged him and cried. Eventually, she calmed down a bit, and she just sat scratching him.
Tanya took note and brought the girl a drink and a snack, and she talked to her for a while and gave her comfort too. They stayed with her until her flight opened up, and she could leave. She felt a lot better than when she got to the airport, and a few weeks later, she came past again and let them know that her father was doing a lot better. From then on, Radar became an emotional support dog for the entire airport.
He had a special gift for knowing when people needed him, and he would go to them. But as much as he loved helping others and as much as the airport staff loved him, they could all tell that Radar was still missing his best friend. He had been living in the airport for more than 3 months at that point; his family was starting to worry, even if they didn’t know what was going on.
Thomas’s parents had come back from their holiday, and they tried to contact the friend who they believed had Radar. They wanted to take over caring for the dog like they always did, but he had loads of excuses. He couldn’t meet them because he was too busy; he didn’t have time to bring them the dog over, all sorts of things that set the alarm bells ringing. They were even worried that he was trying to keep the dog, but Thomas was going to be home soon, and then they would get to the bottom of what was going on. They could never have imagined what happened next.
One day, Tanya was walking along the airport and asked Radar if he wanted a snack. So he followed her to her office, but suddenly he stopped and listened. His ears were turning in every direction, and then he just ran. Tanya wanted to see what had caught his attention like that, so she ran after him to see. Thomas had just gotten off the plane, and he was getting his bags. He spoke to an older woman while helping to get her luggage, and that must have been when his pup heard him.
Thomas was going through the motions, but his mind was on something else. He was coming home a few days early and wanted to surprise his parents, but of course, he wanted his dog right away. So he had been trying to phone his friend for days; he answered once and then acted like he couldn’t hear him. It was frustrating, and he was heading to his friend’s house right away. But then something would happen that changed all his plans. He walked out of the arrivals area and heard barking. He stopped for a second because he knew that bark, but it couldn’t be Radar; no one knew he was coming home. Why would his dog be at the airport? But then Radar was rushing up to him, and Thomas had to drop to his knees to catch him; if he didn’t, the dog would have jumped him over anyway.
No one around them had any doubt that this was the man Radar had been waiting for. He was more excited than any of them had ever seen; his body was shaking from wagging his tail so much, and he couldn’t stop licking Thomas. Thomas had tears in his eyes, but he was still confused too. He looked around for his family or friend, but all he saw was airport staff watching them. One very beautiful woman was crying and looking at them; in fact, everyone around them was crying. Then suddenly, Radar turned around and ran around the woman like he was sharing his excitement with her, and she spoke to him softly; they seemed to know each other, but Thomas had no idea who she was.
Tanya came over and told him how happy she was to finally meet him. Then she took him for coffee to fill in what happened. It was surreal walking along the airport, and everyone knew Radar, but everything soon started making sense. Thomas was furious; he couldn’t believe what his dog had been through or how his so-called friend didn’t even have the guts to let him know his dog was gone. But thankfully, there are still good people out there. Radar was safe, and Thomas was officially retired; he would never leave the dog again. He decided not to let his friend know that the dog was safe; the guy never contacted Thomas again. However, Thomas and Radar saw Tanya often; they both cared for the dog, and they became good friends too.
