All right, Bakk. Let's get you home.
- Oh, good. He ready.
That's a good boy. Good boy. Good.
All right, let's get you home, bubba. All right.
Today, Bakk and I are gonna be reunited.
It-- the moment's here. I'm so ready.
Hi, baby.
We're driving across San Francisco now,
and we're making our way.
In January, Bakk started limping.
And they took him to the vet and found out
that he had a torn cruciate ligament,
which is basically a dog's ACL.
- Can you see the rainbow, Bakk?
- Bakk, at that time, was seven years old.
He's not a good candidate for surgery.
But he is a good candidate for adoption.
So I was like, "I can take him home."
- You're resting here in Reno.
And you actually had to
drive through a snowstorm to get here.
Dogs have always been a part of my life.
When I went to join the Air Force,
that's the first thing I asked.
What do I have to do to be a military working dog handler?
In 2017 I got orders
to Osan Air Base in South Korea.
And when I arrived on station there,
they brought me to Bakk.
Here was this little German shepherd, that was just
waiting patiently. He knew that something was coming.
It was an instant connection.
We just -- we clicked. We were a team that --
that absolutely were meant to be together.
Having Bakk, when I was away from my family, was huge.
I'm already away from my son, who was one,
kind of missing out on some of the big milestones
that people normally get to see at that age.
My son, Kristopher, wanted to do some sports.
I wasn't there, like I normally wanted to be.
For me, Korea, I knew was going to be
a year-long assignment. Knowing that,
you don't want to get super-attached,
because you know you're having to give this dog away,
but at the same time, it's very hard not to get attached.
I was ecstatic to return to my family.
I still felt bad that I had to leave Bakk over there,
But I just-- I knew in my mind that,
don't worry, he's coming home.
Not yet, but he is coming home.
You remember a guy named Technical Sergeant Cain?
Did he ever talk to you about a place called Boise, Idaho?
- We'll be driving up from Mountain Home Air Force Base,
into downtown Boise.
And the reunification with Bakk will be happening down there,
which is gonna be an awesome setting.
Today I have my wife, Stephanie, and my son Henry.
It was amazing to see so much media attention,
just capturing a moment of
having a dog and a soldier reunited together.
- Let's go see your Daddy!
This is a moment that I've been waiting for--
well, honestly, for about 11 months.
I brought Bakk's Kong.
I also brought a rope toy, which he absolutely loves.
Let's see who's here.
Who's here?
Bakk came through the door, and then it clicked.
It's the 2K! 2K, what's up, 2K?
He was like, "Oh, wait. I remember you!"
- You could see his eyes light up.
He walked right over to my wife, Stephanie,
and my 3-year-old son, Henry,
and got a little bit of scratch and love from everybody.
Just right at home.
I just want to give you a hug.
Because, thank you so much for bringing him home.
On the car ride back,
he took up the same position he did
when we were in the patrol car.
He decided he'd just kind of lay down, and
look around for a little bit.
Just getting those moments back,
and him wanting to be around me,
is awesome.
Originally, I was slightly apprehensive
on how Bakk would do around small children,
But as soon as he saw Henry,
walked right up to him,
with his Kong.
He was like, 'All right, this is kind of cool."
Same thing with Stephanie. Stephanie put her arms around him,
and he just immediately accepted,
"Well, this is somebody else who's gonna love me."
I don't see any problems with
my oldest son, Kristopher.
I think they're gonna get along just fine.
He spent seven years of his life
working and jobbing it out there,
for hours on end, in
all of the elements.
He's really deserved to just be a couch dog.
And kind of do what he wants to do.
And that's exactly what I want for him.
I just want him to live out his life
being happy, and not having to be stressed out
or having to do anything.
Just enjoy your time.
I get it. Come. Yeah.
Bakk! [whistling]