Would your dog remember you if you were separated for five years?

[Pat and Traveler]

I recently saw a movie about the Akita dog named Hachiko who waited every day outside the train station for his owner to arrive home from work.  The dog continued to wait every day for over nine years after his owner died.

And there's Greyfriars Bobby, who spent every night for 14 years, regardless of weather, sleeping on his master's grave.

What if, after five years or so, the owners appeared?  Would the dogs really  remember them, or had the waiting simply become routine, a pattern that started out with meaning but morphed into nothing more than daily habit?

There are many stories about joyous reunions between owners and dogs that have been separated for a year or so, many having to do with military personnel who have been deployed overseas.  But what about those bigger chunks of time?  Would our dogs remember us for five years, or longer?  That's a very long time, in dog years.

According to the internet, most people believe that yes, if there's been a strong bond, the dog will remember.  But confirmation is hard to find. 

There's a video of a woman who'd been in prison for 3-1/2 years reuniting with her Shepherd type dog, and the dog is thrilled, obviously remembering her.

Another woman tells of finding her lost Schnauzer in a grooming salon, three years after the dog was lost, and the dog immediately responded to her name, Pepper, and to the lost owner.

There are a couple of videos of owners and long-lost, microchipped dogs being reunited where the dogs appear friendly enough, but not over-the-moon excited.  Of course, these are generally dogs that are getting pretty old. 

A few stories are intriguing.

December 3rd, 2009 by Pets Best

The ideas that go through a pet owner’s head when they find that their dog or cat has gone missing can be downright torturous. It’s often enough to drive the owner to the local Kinkos so he or she can wallpaper the town with flyers publishing the exact description of the animal and the hefty reward to its finder. However, when a dog goes missing for almost half a decade hopes of a reunion may fade, and 10 cent copies seem like an unnecessary expense.

Dog owner Tom Smith gave up searching for his lost dog after several weeks, but his reward came almost five years later.

Smith’s Patterdale terrier named Scrappy Doo was stolen from his garden in 2004. A devoted pet owner, Smith searched for his hound for weeks before losing hope in a reunion, the Sun reports.

But earlier this week, a more mature, seven-year-old Scrappy Doo was found abandoned in Bournemouth in the UK, just 15 miles from Smith’s house in Wareham.

"I thought I’d never see her again," the 60-year-old pet lover told the news source. "When they bought her back as soon as she saw me she went mad. After all that time you wouldn’t think she’d remember."

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from Yahoo answers about how long a dog remembers an owner:

When my wife and I divorced she refused to let me take the dog, but I learnt several years later that she had promptly given the dog away. Imagine my surprise, 5 years after my divorce, I was in another city, a German Shepherd came running up to me, tail wagging, and sat obediently at my side, just the way I had taught her. Yes it was Bo, my girl, still brings a tear to my eye twenty years later. How did she know it was me? god knows but she picked me out of crowd in a different city 5 years after we were last together. So I guess they remember the partnership (owner is to weak a word) all their lives.

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GARDNER, Kan.

-- A northeast Kansas woman who was looking online for a new pet was surprised to see pictures of a dog that looked just like one she lost track of four years ago.

Dana Klint of Gardner was even more surprised - and thrilled - when the dog turned out to be her Siberian husky, named Faith.

Klint was reunited with 15-year-old Faith on Sunday, thanks to the Pet Connection, a no-kill animal shelter in Mission. She left the dog with an ex-boyfriend four years ago and hadn't seen her in two years.

The Kansas City Star reports that Faith had apparently been living on the street for several months before she was taken to a Kansas City, Kan., shelter and then sent to Pet Connection.

Pet Connection director Melody Kelso says pictures and the way the dog acted when she saw Klint made workers confident the dog was Faith.

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from a Golden breeder:

I had bred Goldens for some 20 odd years. I had a woman who had bought a puppy and moved away...came back 13 yrs later with the puppy to visit me and look into purchasing another puppy. This old girl (the dog) was very stiff from plain old age and her "Mom" explained to me, she could barely make it into the back seat of the car without some help.
The day arrives and as I saw the car pull into the driveway and the door open, I called the dog. I always call my puppies the same way...same voice...this dog ears perked up and came flying out of the car!!!!!!!! She nearly knocked me over....Me....I start blubbering like a fool...as I felt so incredibly touched this dog remembered me (and my voice!) The dog literally crawled into my lap...all 50 lbs of her and stayed there! Licking and nudging....We laughed, Mom felt aa littleput out...and called the dog..She immediately went to Mom...but then turned to me again. I swear she was smiling!

[Pat and Traveler]

Trav does that crazy-happy routine for my younger daughter.  It's probably bad manners, but it's just such a joy to see.  Another of his special people is the guy next door.  Trav gets the whirly tail thing going, and puts his paws on the top of the fence to greet this man.  Not really sure why he's so attached, but there's sure no denying that he is!

[Lonnie & Libby Lu]

I love stories like these and there is nothing like the loyalty of a dog.  Our oldest son was very attached to one of our dogs and every day when he came home from school, Dusty would meet him at our gate.  After high school our son moved to Lake Tahoe and for almost a year everyday, Dusty would go to the gate hoping to greet him!  

[Pat and Traveler]

Awwwww...such a sweet story!  I hope your son came back to visit and see Dusty.

[Lonnie & Libby Lu]

He definitely came back for visits and they would "both" go crazy with their love for each other!

[F, Calla & Luca]

There was just a story of a cat who went missing from a new neighborhood after her owner was relocated due to Hurricane Sandy. The cat found her way back home months later over miles and a bridge. I think animals do remember owners and I have no doubt my doodles and I would know each other anywhere after any length of time.

[Pat and Traveler]

Great cat story!   I think Trav and I would recognize each other too, F.  We really get some strong bonds with our doods, and I don't see that ever changing.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Of course, Fudge and Vern would remember me :) I don't like to think of a re-homed dog longing for their past owner, so instead I will tell myself it stays in the back of their minds and only surfaces again if they ever see that person. I would hope that if Fudge and Vern became separated from me, they could find love with someone else, BUT always know I was the best. I can't help it, Pat, I am competitive :)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

LOL, Laurie, we were saying the same thing at the same time. 

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Karen, We think alike, because we are both geniuses :)

[Pat and Traveler]

Ha!  I would expect nothing else, Laurie!   Of course F&V would remember you as the best.  :)

[Lynda Kamrath]

This reminds me of my old friend, Marcia Goodman, who made virtual Smileboxes with me of our dog's trips all over the world.  We were working with anyone who wanted to join in on our virtual trips.  We were planning a trip from New Orleans to Rio for Carnival and everyone (at Doodle Connection/Dogster) was chipping in their two cents.  One lady contacted us and said she lived in Florida and always wanted to go to Rio and asked if she could join in.  I think she was a little disappointed to find out it was only virtual.  Marcia died several years ago and I still check in on her doodles, Bella and Primo.  They were such special friends.  They never knew me, but I will never forget them (or Marcia).

[Pat and Traveler]

Lovely story, Lynda!  Sounds like a fun way to travel the world.  Give virtual hugs to Bella and Primo, next time you check on them.