Spc. Joshua Tucker was reunited with the specialized service dog he was deployed with in Afghanistan after spending years apart.
Tucker met the black Labrador, Ellen, in 2009 when they teamed up at the canine school house at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, and the two were deployed to Afghanistan together.
When Tucker returned from his deployment, he was hospitalized for three months and dealt with post-traumatic stress. He was also told that Ellen was waiting for him.
The day before Tucker was released, he was told that Ellen had been sent back to Lackland and that he would not be getting her. He felt as though he had failed his dog, and began his fight to get her back.
The Army Times reports:
The Tuckers began the fight to get Ellen back. Sherie Tucker called Staff Sgt. Kevin Cameron at JBLM’s kennel and asked how to find a military working dog. He called Lackland, and soon the Tuckers got a call from an Air Force major at Lackland’s military working dog school, who said the search was on.
Ellen was located in Ansbach, Germany. Sherie Tucker had a friend there and called her to ask if she knew of Ellen. The friend soon called back and said, "I have eyes on the dog."
The Army, which allows combat-wounded soldiers to adopt the dogs they served with, declined Tucker’s initial request to have Ellen retired and returned to him.
But on a second attempt, Ellen was returned and recognized her former trainer at the reunion.
On March 29, Ellen was reunited with Joshua Tucker. A video of the reunion shows a streak of black dog hurtling toward a tall man who kneels to greet her with open arms.
"There is no mistaking, she remembered," Sherie Tucker said later. She saw the transformation in her husband. "I watched his eyes change back. ... The change is night and day."
Ellen has been through training to be Joshua’s service dog as he continues to deal with PTSD. He says other soldiers can benefit from a canine companion.