When a person joins the military, typically they form lifelong friendships. For one soldier, he too formed a very special bond while overseas – only his new buddy was a sweet homeless dog named Ollie.
Sadly, the two ended up having to part ways when it was time for the soldier to go home. However, that didn’t stop him from working to get his best friend back!
The following story has melted hearts across the internet.
While working on an army base in Iraq, former Army Specialist, Ken Wyrsch, made one of the best friends he has ever known. One day, he spotted a stray dog on the street near his location. Although the dog was a stray, he was brave and decided to stride onto the army base that day and never looked back.
Just a puppy at the time, Ken immediately fell in love with the dog.
It sure didn’t take his lovable stray long to work his way into Ken and all of the other soldiers’ hearts. The dog soon became known as Ollie, and Ken took on the job of raising him as his own dog.
Ken said that from the moment Ollie walked onto the base, he connected with him as if he was his dog. He felt a connection with the puppy, and he would not ever let the dog suffer on the streets again.
The dog’s life was turned around.
Ken took Ollie in and began to feed him well. Ollie started to gain weight and gain health because Ken took such good care of him. Ken soon became Ollie’s master, and Ollie was beyond thrilled about the new friend he made who took such pride in caring for him.
Ollie became a faithful companion.
Every time Ken had to go out on a mission for work, he would return to Ollie greeting him enthusiastically, with his tail wagging.
Ken told CBS SF:
“He was there when we left, and he was there when we got back.”
The pair developed such a strong bond very quickly and became closer and closer as Ollie grew from a puppy to adult. Ken made every effort to spend as much time with his faithful companion as he possibly could.
Eventually, they had to say goodbye.
The day came that Ken and the other men on the base had to pack it up and leave, as the base was being shut down. This meant that Ollie was losing his companion and friends and would wind up back on the streets again. Everyone was heartbroken over the news.
Ken was worried that Ollie wouldn’t survive the harsh life on the streets. The attitude in Iraq towards street strays was not favorable and Ken worried Ollie would be abused or mistreated. Ollie didn’t deserve that, especially being so gentle and loving.
Ken couldn’t let anything happen to the dog that stole his heart. When asked about it, he said,
“You never leave a friend behind.”
He discovered a way to reunite with his buddy.
When he returned from Iraq, he enlisted the help of SPCA International to see if he could raise funds and have Ollie brought to his home in California.
He managed to raise enough money to make his dream a reality! One month later, his beloved Ollie arrived in the United States!
Ollie and Ken shared a heartwarming reunion full of nothing more than raw emotion. When Ollie saw his beloved Ken, he almost lost it, jumping into his arms.
There’s no doubt these two will be best buddies for life. Luckily, their sweet reunion was caught on film and it’s warming hearts everywhere.
Press play on the video below to see Ken and Ollie reunite for yourself! Just know you might want to have a tissue handy.
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