Deployed Dad Surprises Daughter While She's Training Dolphins At Work

Deployed Dad Surprises Daughter While She's Training Dolphins At Work

A young woman received the best surprise while working as a dolphin trainer while her father was supposedly deployed in Afghanistan.

Kat struggled with her dad's absence growing up. While he never left permanently, he spent a lot of time away for work and missed out on important milestones as a result.

In a video shared by Militarykind, Kat says, "I think the hardest part for me was always just like it’s something that he’s not around for… He wasn’t there for my 16th birthday. There were sporting events there, school events, and stuff that he missed."

Most recently, her dad, Gerry Dalrymple, was working in Afghanistan and the internet was unreliable at best. He wasn't able to communicate with Kat that much so his absence felt more prominent.

Gerry realized how he missed out on Kat's life and put work before family, so he decided to do something big to make up for it. You can't get back lost time, but you can do everything to make the most of the present moment and that's exactly what Gerry committed to doing.

Kat had no idea what her father was scheming. While working as an intern at the Clearwater Aquarium in Georgia, Florida, Kat was asked to be filmed for a training video that the aquarium was making. She agreed though she was a little confused by the request.

Little did she know, her father was behind the training video and he got her work in on a grand surprise!

While filming the "training" video, Gerry snuck in behind Kat. He was supposed to be in Afghanistan still so Kat couldn't be more surprised and emotional to see him.

It as a touching moment and one you can see for yourself in the video below:
Malorie Thompson

Malorie works as a writer and editor in Northern California. She's passionate about food, conscious living, animal welfare, and conservation. She's worked with a variety of publications in different sectors but is happiest covering topics close to her heart. When not at her laptop, Malorie can be found enjoying picnics on the beach, hiking in the redwoods, and spending time with her rescue pup, Jax.

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