Special Bond and Sweet Reunion: Dogs Rescued by US Special Forces Sergeant in Afghanistan are Reunited on the Home Front

Aimee Herd : Jul 18, 2014
Christina Corbin – FOX News.com

"One of the soldiers whose dog we brought back said it's the dog that keeps him alive. He's become his therapy dog. The soldier doesn't leave the house without him. They experienced together the sound of gunfire, the smell of gun powder... It really is a bond that cannot be broken."

When a US Elite Special Forces unit in Afghanistan came upon some Afghan men who had shot a dog and were proceeding to shoot her puppies—they quickly intervened, according to a Fox News report. (Photo via Fox News)

"We could see an adult dog and figured that they were shooting the dog over and over again. When we got closer, we saw that the situation wasn't what we expected. The corpse of a dog on the ground had a litter of puppies no more than a week old and they weren't just shooting the mother but also shooting the pups," recalled the sergeant, who now lives in Raleigh, NC, and whose name cannot be revealed for security reasons.

The unit was able to rescue two puppies and took them back to their base camp, raising them as "comrades" of the troops there.

This week, the two dogs—known as "Rommel" and "Blitz"—were to be flown back to the states and reunited with the sergeant who saved them.

The reunion is part of a program led by "Guardians of Rescue" which returns dogs that bonded with soldiers during deployment to those same heroes once they're back home.

According to the report: Guardians of Rescue, a national volunteer organization whose mission is to protect the well-being of animals, began its operation to reunite dogs in Afghanistan with American troops in 2010. With the help of the Kabul-based animal rescue group, Nowzad, more than 20 canines have so far been brought back from the country and returned to U.S. troops—most recently a Navy SEAL team, according to Robert Misseri, founder and president of the animal rescue group. Their work has been made possible solely though money donated to the organization.

"This is part of our No Buddy Left Behind Program," said Misseri. "Raising that kind of money isn't easy, but helping our heroes and their four-legged battle buddies is the least we can do. After all, they sacrifice their lives for our freedom on a daily basis."

"One of the soldiers whose dog we brought back said it's the dog that keeps him alive," added Misseri. "He's become his therapy dog. The soldier doesn't leave the house without him. They experienced together the sound of gunfire, the smell of gun powder... It really is a bond that cannot be broken."