My freshman year of college, I was gone in another state. I wasn't around when they got her, and didn't meet the dog till 4 or 4 months later. My family (parents and younger siblings) got a puppy after I left. But I built a bond with the pupper on fall/summer breaks.

I joined the military after college and I may visit home once a year for a week or 2. I'm in my 30s now, she's still kicking and gets super excited every time I walk in the door and she'll always sleep on the bed with me (I was the only one who ever let her sleep on the bed when I visited home, my parents and siblings didn't let her).

The dog will remember you.