Murphy, who had started sitting outside Janna Berger’s bedroom door, hoping for her return, ran around the car towards Janna Berger a second time, but once again stopped and looked towards her father.
It was almost as if he was seeking reassurance that it was really his owner in front of him.
The dog wagged his tail as he approached before backing away. He seemed shocked, or perhaps he really thought he was meeting someone new.
When Janna Berger’s father knelt down to comfort Murphy, the dog came back over and allowed her to gently pet him.
The sadness quickly turned into joy as she hugged him and he suddenly realized who she was. He bowed his head to her in his excitement.
Murphy approached even closer as he climbed onto her lap and licked her face. When she hugged him, he suddenly realized who she was and threw himself at her in excitement.
The dog’s entire body began to contort with pleasure as he leaped around his long-lost owner. “I didn’t know how Murphy would react when I got home,” Berger said.
“The happiest moment of my life was when he finally realized it was me.”
Anxiety turned to joy when Ms. Berger put her arms around her beloved dog. “The happiest moment of my life was when he finally realized it was me,” she said
‘He has been the light of my life for more than three years now and I hope many more will be by his side.’
Ms. Berger was away from home for at least ten weeks during her basic training, and then went on to spend more time completing Advanced Personal Training, to specialize in her chosen field .
During that time, Murphy slept outside the bedroom in her parents’ house.
“In the first letter my mother sent me, she told me that since I left, every day, Murphy has been waiting for me to come back to her room to pick me up,” she said.
The pair were so close that Murphy slept outside Ms Berger’s bedroom at her parents’ home after she left to complete her military training
‘I think about Murphy every day when I’m in basic training and AIT. I think I miss him more than my family, because I know he doesn’t know if I’ll come back or not.
‘My best friend came to my house one day, found Murphy sleeping outside my room and took one of his footprints on a piece of paper to send it to me.
‘It hangs inside my locker with bandages for the rest of the basic.’
Ms. Berger recently completed her training and in a few months she is expected to move into a new home away from the base. She’ll bring Murphy with her.