SELINSGROVE, Pa. — A former K-9 handler who worked at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad was reunited with her K-9 partner on Tuesday.
It was an emotional day in Snyder County for a pair of former coworkers. Jessica Arce and 9-year-old golden lab Val reunited for the first time since 2016. Arce says it is a moment that she will never forget.
"It was awesome. I pretty much spent 24 hours a day with this dog, so you get really attached to them, and I'm just glad that I got her back."
Arce enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2004. During her time in the Army, she was deployed three times, and a was Purple Heart recipient. In 2015, Arce began working at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad as a bomb-sniffing dog handler. Her K-9 partner was Val.
"We worked at the Baghdad embassy, and basically, we just searched vehicles entering and leaving the property and other things," she explained.
Arce left Afghanistan in 2016, but Val stayed. After a few more years of service, Val was brought back to the states. The golden lab has been living with Anne Gibbs at K9 Hero Haven, a nonprofit that connects retired military dogs with their handlers.
"It always makes me teary-eyed, and I get so super-excited. I love being able to see them together after years of not seeing each other," said Gibbs.
Not only was this a special reunion for Val and Jessica, but also for Anne Gibbs. This was the first time she got to work with a female handler at K9 Hero Haven.
"She is actually our very first female K-9 handler that we are reuniting with her dog. Obviously, we are super-excited to be able to put them together," Gibbs said.
Arce said she traveled from Tennessee just to reunite with Val.
"I can't even explain, I was excited the whole way up here, I'm still excited," Arce said.
Arce said they are going to a McDonalds to get Val a well-deserved retirement cheeseburger.