A U.S. military bomb dog, Yyacob, has been reunited in retirement with his handler of two years, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Peyton May, after being apart since 2022.
Their first stop after their reunion in Texas Monday will be meeting Staff Sgt. May’s friends for Thanksgiving. This is their second Thanksgiving together, their first happening while on tour in Iraq.
“Since my family’s over in Mississippi, that’s an eight-hour drive,” Staff Sgt. May told American Humane. “And this boy just traveled so far, so I don’t want to take him all the way to Mississippi. It actually feels nice to have him home in time for the holidays. … And actually, to me, having Yyacob back means I now have family home for the holidays with me as well.”
Yyacob, an 8-year-old male Belgian Malinois, served from 2017 until October, working in Iraq, at U.S. Army Fort Drum in Jefferson County, New York, and as a Secret Service dog. Staff Sgt. May started service at age 18 in May 2017, and had planned to leave the Army and his role as a sniper until deciding to become certified as a K-9 handler.
Yyacob worked with Staff Sgt. May from December 2020 until June 2022, when Staff Sgt. May was reassigned to a base in Texas. The pair were in Iraq from July 2021 until April 2022.
Staff Sgt. May was Yyacob’s second handler, while Yyacob was his first dog as a K-9 handler. Yyacob stayed behind at Fort Drum but the energetic, hard-working and hard-playing dog was unable to adjust. When Yyacob’s service ended in October, Staff Sgt. May moved to reunite with his old pal.
Staff Sgt. May contacted American Humane for help, and was finally able to be with Yyacob again, having kept tabs on him while serving elsewhere. American Humane helps transport retired military dogs, covers their medical expenses and reunites them with their former handlers.
“It feels really rewarding to see him for the first time in a long time. ’Cause I’ve been bugging the military for years. Hey, when y’all going to let my dog retire? So it has been really hard. It fills my heart to really see him again,” Staff Sgt. May told American Humane.
Staff Sgt. May also said that he is looking forward to giving Yyacob the “couch he deserves” while serving in Vicenza, Italy, in 2025.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to bring military working dog Yyacob home and reunite him with his best friend. American Humane is honored to help give this courageous canine the comfortable retirement he deserves after seven years of distinguished service to our country,” American Humane President Robin Ganzert said in a release Tuesday.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.