LAS VEGAS, NV — Being a military wife can be difficult, especially when your husband gets deployed. One military wife is finding a new way to cope with being halfway around the world from her spouse.
“It’s just kind of an idea of what would the dogs say to him every day if he walked through that door,” military wife Katie Flath said in an interview with KVVU.
Flath is anxiously awaiting the day her husband, Air Force Master Sgt. Jesse Garcia, comes home.
He was deployed to South Korea in August for a one-year tour of duty.
“The hardest part about him being gone is he misses out on a lot of stuff, even as adults we have things that we attend, that he can’t be here,” Flath said.
This is just one of many deployments for the couple, but this one is a bit different. With the help of the couples’ English bulldogs Dozer and Touchdown, and social media, Flath discovered a new way to count down the days until Jesse returns.
Since day one of the deployment Flath has been dressing the dogs up and posing them with a chalkboard. The board has messages and the number of days until Jesse comes home. Themes include birthdays, anniversaries, and current events.
“It’s something that, every day he can get on there and look and say hey, Touchdown has Measles today, or Dozer is partying because it’s Mardi Gras,” Flath said.
Flath said the chalkboard has helped time go by faster and not only for her and Jesse.
“All of the guys in his shop now actually have added me on Instagram or Facebook because they enjoy seeing them, it’s almost like a mini countdown for them,” Flath said.
Flath has already posted 200 pictures, so she has just 165 left to go until Jesse comes home in August. If you want to follow her on her journey you can do so on Instagram @flathismyhero.
