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National guardsman and dog reunite

Posted at 8:11 AM, Jul 10, 2013
and last updated 2013-07-10 08:11:23-04

On the military watch - a guardsman and a war dog are back together in the U.S.

It's the kind of reunion that has the toughest guys reaching for a tissue.

Meet California National Guardsman Kevin Brady and his war dog, Bailey, a shepherd mix.

Bailey was raised by the Afghani Army until she was just about 8 weeks old.

And with that, the pint sized pup became property of the U.S. Army.

People were away from their kids, their family, and even their dogs back home. So she provided a lot of comfort.

Brady soon found himself with a new best friend, in the most unusual of places.

But with his tour nearing an end in late May, it looked like he'd have to board the plane without Bailey.

"Leaving her there just didn't seem right."

That's when Brady reached out to Dori Scofield, founder of Save a Pet and guardians of rescue in Fort Jefferson Station.

"To us, if she showed up, she'd be a shepherd-golden mix."

She quickly raised $5,000 to coordinate Bailey's very long and complicated return to the United States.

"I picked her up at JFK Airport from Dubai. It was a very long journey for her, two hours waiting through Customs to get her, but it was so worth it."

After two months of being quarantined, spayed, vaccinated, and micro-chipped, she's finally here and will get a proper home with her buddy by her side.

"I got two boys at home and I think they're going to be excited, we've been talking about getting a dog for a long time, and so what a better story than to get a dog in Afghanistan and bring her home."