In a world full of bad news there’s some good news out of a charity called “Paws of War,” which helps service members reunite with the dogs the bonded with overseas.
Such was recently done by Paws of War for U.S. Army First Lt. Tad, who found a stray, starving dog named Gus while overseas. He let the pup back onto base, nursed it back to health, and closely bonded with it while stationed overseas. The pair was inseparable, Fox News Digital reports. In that outlet’s words:
At the start of his deployment, Tad first found Gus, who is about two years old, searching for food near the overseas Army base.
The pair immediately connected — and became inseparable after several months of bonding, Paws of War told Fox News Digital.
And so when he was to be deployed elsewhere and had to leave Gus behind, his heart sank. In his words: “I sat with Gus before I left the old base and my heart just sank, I could tell he knew something was different, but he had no idea he was about to be alone again in a place [where] so many animals perish without someone to care for them.”
Adding to that, he said that leaving Gus behind at the base was more guilt than he could take, saying that it was Gus that had gotten him through his deployment. Speaking on that, he said “He had helped me through deployment and [had] given me something to look forward to each day, and now I was about to betray him.”
“I prayed hard that he would be OK, but walking away for the last time haunted me,” Tad added.
So, Lt. Tad reached out to a charity called “Paws of War” which helps reunite veterans with their furry friends, describing its mission as being “To honor and support our veterans, active military members, and first responders with services that enrich their lives through the rescue and training of service dogs for independence, adoption of companion animals, rescue of overseas animals in war zones, and other essential services to assist our heroes in need.”
And Paws of War was able to work its magic, eventually getting Gus back to the US and delivering him to Tad’s parents in Indiana. Lt. Tad, commenting on that, said “The relief of knowing Gus is safe is indescribable. I truly didn’t think it would happen and that was so hard to deal with. Now I can’t wait to see him again knowing he’ll never have to be alone another day in his life. I’m grateful beyond words.”
Paws of War excitedly announced the successful reunion as well, saying “We are thrilled to be able to say that Gus has made it safely to America and will have more to share with you on his happy reunion with his hero very soon. We have many more dogs and cats hoping to be reunited with their soldiers and if you’d like to help make more happy endings possible, we’d be deeply grateful for you compassionate support.”
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