Army Special Forces soldier Aaron Eleby rescued Yakkul from the front lines and shipped the fur ball home to Valatie, New York. The warrior and his dog reconnected shortly before Christmas.
 

He’s a tough guy with a soft side.

U.S. Army Special Forces soldier Aaron Eleby was serving in Afghanistan when he made a surprising discovery — an adorable cotton ball of a puppy.

"We were at a place, and those people over there didn't really deserve to have any dogs in the first place, among other things," Eleby told WTEN news. "I saw him after seeing the other dogs, and just how they treat their other dogs over there, it's atrocious. They are guard dogs, they don't eat much."

The brawny former college lacrosse player was sure the puppy would die in Afghanistan, so he took the fluffy little furball with him.

“He was literally looking up, like, 'what are you going to do man?' ya know, like ‘what are you going to do next?’”Eleby told WTEN.

It’s not easy for a pup in a war zone. Eleby said the tiny doggie, named Yakkul, couldn’t even eat at first.

“I literally had to eat beef jerky and regurgitate it up like a little bird for him,” Eleby told WTEN.

Eleby began to make plans to ship his new buddy to his home in upstate Valatie, New York.

Friends, family members and the Albany TV station’s Pet Connection helped raise more than $4,000 to pay for the journey.

Yakkul traveled with an armed military escort through Afghanistan to connect with a British animal rescue group before flying 6,000 miles to JFK Airport where Eleby’s mother picked him up.

Eleby wasn’t far behind. He and his dog had an emotional reunion just in time for Christmas.

“When I walked in and saw him, it was awesome,” Eleby told WTEN. “I'm not gonna say a tear came to my eye, but it was hiding back there.”