U.S. Soldier Aaron Eleby Reunited With Puppy He Found in Afghanistan


“Victory ’tis so sweet.”

United States Soldier Aaron Eleby is a prime example. However, one of his sweetest victories didn’t come from his work on the front line. Eleby’s victory actually came in the form of a rescue when he saved a puppy he found in Afghanistan.

According to Fox News Insider, the dog was living in a dangerous war zone at the time of his discovery. Now, the seven-month-old puppy has a home in the United States. Eleby, his fellow servicemen and New York’s Charity Nowzad, are accredited for the animal’s second chance at life. Charity Nowzad of New York even embraced the puppy with open arms, giving it a name – Yakkul.

The DailyMail reports that it cost approximately $4,000.00 to ship the abandoned animal to New York. But, Eleby expressed that once he looked into the vulnerable eyes of the helpless puppy, the price had no bearing on its well-being.

“We were at a place and those people over there didn’t really deserve to have any dogs in the first place,” Eleby told 10 ABC. “He was literally looking up, like, “What are you going to do man?”… like “What are you going to do next? It’s your call”,’ he said giving an interpretation of the defenseless puppy’s expression. Eleby chose the latter.

The decision was definitely his call, and he chose to use bring the animal to safety.

Once Eleby made it back to his base with the animal, he immediately began working to raise the appropriate funds needed to ship the animal to the United States. It was also stated that Eleby had to report for a two-week mission before he had the full amount to transport the animal. But, fortunately, when he returned the funds had been raised and were available due to substantial donations from Eleby’s friends, family, and the Steve Caporizzo’s Pet Connection.

However, although the funds were available, Eleby was still faced with the task of driving the animal to a remote location for safe departure. The drive required two and a half hours through dangerous territory, but nevertheless, the job was done. ‘He actually had to drive with a military escort because you drive around out there by yourself with a dog they are going to be like “Why are you doing this?”,’ Elbey explained.

Charity Nowzad made the proper arrangements to transport the puppy 6,000 miles, where it arrived at JFK Airport in New York City. The puppy was then given to Eleby’s mother until his return to the states.

A week later, Eleby was reunited with the puppy. ‘When I walked in and saw him, it was awesome. I’m not gonna say a tear came to my eye, but it was hiding back there,’ Elbey said.

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