North Texas Marine veteran, dog reunite

It's been a tough road for one Marine veteran, but through a twist of fate and with the help of a very generous North Texan, he's getting the chance to reconnect with a dog that brought him peace and comfort in war zones.

Jason Young of Glen Rose is a veteran hardened by five tours in Iraq and two in Afghanistan.

Being away took its toll.

“Most people don't realize that's harder than anything, the stuff that's going on here, when we are over there and we can't do anything about it,” said Young.  

But in Afghanistan, he found a protector in Rocky, a Dutch Shepherd trained to sniff out explosive devices.

“He saved a lot of lives and very easily saved mine because there were a lot of IEDs in our area of camp that would have very easily gone off,” said Young.

He also found friendship and comfort in Rocky's presence.

Four years later, Young is now readjusting to life at home with wife, Katerina.

On Dec. 4, they attended a fundraiser for Dallas-based humanitarian aid organization Linking the World, and as if by fate, the stars aligned.

One of the auction items was the chance to give Rocky a forever home.

Rocky fetched thousands, but the bidder had other plans – to orchestrate the perfect reunion with the help of First Foundation, which rehabs service dogs.

Young and Rocky were then reunited. Young could not be more grateful to the donor who not only helped support Linking the World and all the great work it does, but then handed over the highly-trained dog to someone who cares for him.

Young says he's looking forward to giving Rocky a loving home out in Glen Rose, where he can just enjoy being a dog again.