A US soldier thought he’d never see his K-9 partner again. This holiday, both got a surprise to be thankful for

Upon retirement, the four-legged explosives expert who’d served in Iraq found a forever home – one he surely finds familiar.

US Army Staff Sgt. Payton May and his military dog Yyacob spent their first Thanksgiving together in the throes of a mission in Iraq. Yyacob was experienced at explosives detection. And May, back in the fall of 2021, was a new K-9 handler deployed overseas for the first time. It was Yyacob, May would say years later, who helped him cope with the new environment and the “loneliness of deployment.” “They see the best of you and the worst of you,” May recalled. “They’re there with you when you go to sleep, they’re there for you when you wake up … they give you a sense of purpose.” On that Thanksgiving three years ago in Iraq, May and Yyacob shared a traditional holiday meal of ham and turkey in the room they shared on base. Not long after, following nine months of bonding – sharing a twin-size bed and spending every second of the day together – the soldier learned he was being reassigned to Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in Texas.