Watch This Heart-Tugging Reunion Between an Emotional Support Dog and His Owner After 3 Days Apart

The Watsonville (Calif.) Police Department shared a tear-jerking video on their Facebook page last month: a Watsonville man named Gary being reunited with his emotional support dog, a Doberman pinscher named Arrow.

The pure-bred doggo was reported missing Sept. 19 by his distraught owner. Gary had little hope of being reunited with Arrow, who is Gary's emotional support dog. But after some good old-fashioned detective work, Arrow was located and the reunion was made possible.

"We were able to go back and look at camera footage from around the area [of Arrow's reported disappearance]," Watsonville Public Information Officer Michelle Pulido tells Daily Paws. "From that, we were able to identify a [woman] who had taken the dog home."

From there, it was only a matter of time before the woman was identified through interviews with residents in the area, and Arrow was recovered.

In the video posted to the department's Facebook page, Officer Angel Hernandez holds Arrow's leash as Gary comes out of his home and the tears begin to flow.

"Thank you, Angel," Gary says in the video, taking the officer by the hand. "What a beautiful man you are."

Videos like these do more than just brighten the day of people like us who get to see them on the internet. They can also serve as ways to bridge the space between police departments and the public they live and work with.