The faithfulness of some animals knows no bounds, as demonstrated by a dog suffering from terminal cancer who endured long enough to see her owner again after a military deployment.

Eric Ralston serves in the U.S. Navy and for eight months was deployed to Guam, Micronesia.

During that time, his puppy was diagnosed at just a few weeks old.The name of this very loyal creature is Kermie. The 11-year-old Lab-Beagle-Chow Chow mix was taken to a dental clinic for a checkup and cleaning and came out diagnosed with cancer.

Jennifer Ralston, the Marine’s wife, took the furry pooch in for a checkup a month after the man deployed on a new mission.

Apparently the dog had very bad breath in her mouth and the woman thought she needed a thorough cleaning.

Unfortunately the reality was different, as Kermie was diagnosed with oral cancer or oral melanoma and the prognosis for life was two to three months.

Sad news for the whole family but especially for Eric, who thought he would never see his pet alive again.

The news broke the woman’s heart and she did not know how she would explain the matter to her husband.

The little dog was for them that first taste of parenthood.

“We were devastated, to say the least. Kermie was our first daughter, and we didn’t think Eric would ever get to see her again,” said Mrs. Ralston.

After the diagnosis Jennifer personally took over the puppy’s care. She gave her medicine and fed her by hand to make sure she ate enough, but there were weeks when she thought Kermie wouldn’t make it and would die without saying goodbye to her human.

Luckily, the little dog showed the gallantry and love she was made of.

Although she had several relapses, the furry dog outlived her predicted lifespan by far.

In fact, there was an extension of the mission and the family thought the man would not make it, but the Marine got to hug his furry friend the day he returned home to Northglenn, Colorado.

For eight months the young man excelled as an assistant chief medical officer at the hospital aboard the USS Frank Cable, stationed on the island of Guam.

A video on social media shared the reunion of the father and the furry girl, and it went viral.

Kermie beat the odds and held on until her human arrived. In fact, in the recording you can see an extremely happy and energetic dog.

No one would presume that she was a dying animal without knowing her diagnosis beforehand.

The only explanation we have for the case is that the happiness that the canine felt at that moment was the best medicine to recharge her energies and her heart.

In the recording of just a few seconds, the dog can be seen running desperately to hug daddy without stopping wagging her tail, to the point of licking his face as well.

Her happiness is really contagious, and even the family couldn’t explain Kermie’s reaction

“His [Eric’s] return was a kind of magic pill for her – she started eating and drinking again, without a fight!”. Watching the homecoming video, you can’t even see the struggles of the previous months,” wrote Jennifer Ralston.

Eric’s return was just before Christmas and those weeks later the little dog proved to be in high spirits, even managing to celebrate her twelfth birthday in the month of January, but she crossed the rainbow weeks later.

Kermie’s cancer had progressed too far and in February all her pain returned, so the family listened to the vet’s recommendation and put her to sleep.

The furry one closed her eyes in the arms of the man she loved so much and to whom she proved loyal until the very last moment.

From heaven, this little girl gives us all human beings a great lesson and we are very happy to know that she was able to hug daddy one last time.