There was a black lab named Reggie who had needed a new home. A man had moved to town, but still felt like something was missing in his life so he went to the shelter to get a dog.

At the shelter the man met Reggie, but the two didn’t exactly hit it off once he got Reggie home. The shelter explained that it would take two weeks or so for Reggie to adjust, but it still wasn’t working out well.

The man started going through Reggie’s belongings that he had brought home from the shelter and spotted a sealed letter that Reggie’s previous owner had left him.

Although Reggie would follow the basic commands like “sit”, “stay”, and “come” it was obvious that he wasn’t very happy. He wouldn’t even come when the man called his name. The only thing he knew about Reggie is that he had to take two tennis balls with him everywhere he went.

He had forgotten about the sealed letter, so he decided to read it before giving the shelter a call to return Reggie. What he read in the letter nearly brought him to tears.

The letter explained the basic stuff. What he liked to eat, what commands he knows, and that he was up to date on his shots and where his veterinarian was. Then the letter went into a bit more detail.

Reggie’s owner explained that he and Reggie had been together since Reggie was just a puppy. The owner didn’t have a family of his own, not even a mom and dad. He’d lost them. Reggie and he were family, put simply. They only had each other.

He also explained why Reggie didn’t come to his name when called. His real name was Tank, named after the machine that his owner drives. He had been forced to leave Tank at the shelter when he went to Iraq.

They were going to hold Tank until he returned home, but his commanding officer was told that if something happened to Tank’s owner, he was to call the shelter so they could put him up for adoption.

Tank’s owner went on to explain that if someone was reading the letter, than that meant he wasn’t going to be returning home to his beloved pet, and so he hoped that he would love and care for Tank the way he did.

The man gently folded the letter back up. Of course he had heard about Paul Mallory, everyone in town had heard about the local kid killed in Iraq. He was given a Silver Star for giving his life to save three other men.

The man leaned forward in his chair and stared at Tank. “Hey Tank,” he said. The dog’s head immediately whipped around and his eyes became bright. “Come here boy,” he said.” And the dog immediately clicked across the floor and sat in front of him.

He whispered his name over and over and with every word he spoke, Tank’s eyes softened and his posture relaxed. For the first time the two were finally bonding.  “It’s me now, Tank, just you and me,” said the man.

Tank reached up and licked his cheek and the man asked him if he’d like to play ball. Tank’s ears perked up and he tore across the room. When he came back, he had three tennis balls in his mouth.

What an amazing and heartwarming story. Be sure to share this with your family and friends too. They’re sure to be touched by it too.