This is Leif, a poodle. Even if it’s someone he hasn’t seen in months. In 2005, Rafe’s owner, Kim Carino, decided to train the pup. A friend of Carino’s late brother, who had experience grooming dogs, offered to teach him how to train his pup to be the best he could be. Over time, however, the friend became more than just a teacher for Reeve.
“We saw each other every week,” Reeve says, “and Reeve loved it.” Over the summer, training continued at a local park and Reeve eventually graduated. – The man who trained him never left his mind, though. A few weeks ago, ten months after the end of training, to surprise Reeve, Carino and his girlfriend decided to meet in the park.
In order to make the reunion even more meaningful, Reeve decided to sit quietly on a bench and see if Reeve recognized him. But after all this time, would he really remember her? The images of this “fortuitous” meeting dispel doubts. I wanted to see if he would recognize her as himself. She’s a smart poodle, so she won’t understand, says Carino. Seeing her reaction when she was with my brother’s friends convinced me that she was special. It warmed my heart.”
For Reeve, nothing could have made her happier. Seeing that Reeve was so happy to see her mentor again that day, he and Carino decided to make these meetings a regular occurrence.
