Watch as Belgian Malinois Remembers Rescuer a Year Later: 'Special'

A dog who recognized his rescuers over a year after he was saved by them has melted hearts online.

Henry Friedman shared the heartwarming moment he was reunited with Dennis, a purebred Belgian Malinois who was rescued in Mexico.

Friedman has been involved in fostering and rescuing animals for five years now, starting with his own dog, Finn.

With a growing social media following, he shares success stories and animals in need with his followers. In the last three years they have raised over $500,000 for animal welfare organizations across the country.

In a heartwarming video that has been viewed over 200,000 times, Friedman shared the moment that Dennis saw him again after a year.

"We found Dennis in the middle of a farm in March 2022, covered in mud and unable to walk on his back legs," Friedman told Newsweek. "We carried him out of there, loaded him into the back of a car and rushed him to the vet to be evaluated."

The vet found that Dennis had an injury to his lower back, consistent with a blunt force trauma.

"We think one of the workers on the farm where we found him hit him with a shovel," said Friedman. "So after being on bed rest for several weeks, he started walking again."

Once he was healthy enough, the team transported him to the U.S. and to their rescue partner in San Diego at The Animal Pad.

"He was then fostered by an awesome woman named Danielle who eventually decided to adopt him," said Friedman.

New Family

Now living in San Diego with his loving family, Dennis was able to be reunited with his rescuer a year later.

After he was rescued, he had some small issues with reactivity and so Friedman knew he had to approach the reunion with caution.

"Keep in mind, Belgian Malinois are often used as police or military dogs, so they're pretty intimidating already. So we approached the entire meeting with an abundance of caution," he said. "I positioned myself on a bench, and the plan was for them to walk by me and sniff me. Well, as they approached I called his name just how i used to say it back when i was with him: "Is that DENNNYY?!".... His body language completely changed, and we could all immediately recognize that he remembered me just from my voice."

Dennis ran to his rescuer immediately, wagging his tail and licking his face.

"It was a special moment for his owner too. To see your dog that's scared of most people and can be reactive, completely disarmed and spilling with love," said Friedman. "Of course I was happy he remembered me, but it's mostly amazing to see how lucky Dennis is."

A reminder of why he does what he does, Friedman said that he is constantly inspired by the dogs around him and hopes to continue helping more animals.

"I believe dogs can save us," he said. "Animal rescuers are known to burn out because that's all they see—but if you follow the story to its conclusion, you will understand the why."

"It's obvious when you see it," he explained. "That dog we saw on the worst day of its life, is no longer in pain. That dog for the first time in its life has a name. It's happy, eats the best food twice a day, sleeps in a bed, is loved, and treated like family."

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