Heartwarming Reunion: U.S. Soldier And His Dog Share Touching Moment

In 2011, a US Marine named Nick Montez and his bomb-sniffing yellow Labrador dog, Mally served together. They were working together on a mission in Afghanistan, but Mally was called away to serve in another location. 

Nick Montez served in the United States Marine Corps for four years, during which time he saw action in Afghanistan in the year 2011. Prior to leaving for his mission, Nick participated in the dog-handler training offered by the Marine Corps for a period of time.

Nick Montez, and Mally, a trained sniffer dog, were assigned to work together in Garmsir, which is located in Afghanistan. Their mission was to search the area for any improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and defuse or destroy them if they were found. 

Born and raised in Lewiston, Idaho, Nick found it difficult to be far away from home and tolerate the freezing temperatures that prevailed in Afghanistan during the winter months. Nick is among the people who struggle with homesickness, which we all know to be a challenge for many. 

Nick and Mally were forced to part ways following their tour of duty in Afghanistan for understandable reasons. Nick felt terrible as they went their own ways, but they had no other option. Nick was concerned that he would probably never see the dog that had been his buddy again because Mally was destined to be transferred to another location.

The Marine Corps Naval Base in Cherry Point, North Carolina, was where Nick and the rest of his fellow service members and other dog handlers were ordered to report. Nick was under the impression that he would be given a few days after they landed to spend his final moments with Mally.

Following the long journey into the United States, Nick escorted Mally outside so the two could use the restroom. It was at that moment that he noticed a trailer pulling up. It was entirely comprised of canine boarding kennels.

Nick said that getting Mally onboard the vehicle was one of the most difficult tasks because he was sad to see his buddy go. Their lives, however, continued anyway. The worst aspect of owning a dog is saying goodbye to a faithful friend and former partner. Dogs and their trainers form a special link; it might be hard to imagine life without them.

Nick couldn’t go a single day without thinking about his buddy when Mally was transferred to the Lackland Air station based in Texas to perform her job duties. In all honesty, he held out hope that one day the two of them would be able to find each other again and resume their lives together.

Nick was determined to have his partner back despite his discharge from the military, so he moved quickly to submit adoption paperwork to the Department of Defense.

They had formed a solid friendship while they were together in Afghanistan, which is the reason why Nick yearned for Mally to return as his lifetime companion and wanted to settle down with him permanently.

Nick and Mally had entrusted their lives to each other when they worked together on the ground to seek and defuse IEDs. It was not a link that could be broken off in such a short amount of time.

Nick would frequently inquire about Mally and find out her status, even though they never got the chance to say their final goodbyes. He was never provided with a great deal of information, except for the fact that she was doing well.

Nick struggled tremendously to communicate with anyone about his ex-partner in order to seek answers to his questions. After the company transfer was finished, Nick was unable to reach anybody on the phone who could direct him to Mally or assist him in finding her.

Nick was relieved when he found out that Mally had been deployed at Lackland Air Station in Texas all along. But, she was not permitted to retire because her services were still required. However, since Nick knew someone called Derek Brown, who worked at that base, he began viewing the news more optimistically.

Nick had now accepted the fact that he would not be able to adopt Mally; therefore, in light of this realization, he wanted to have just one more opportunity to be in her presence.

After giving up all expectations of ever reuniting with his former partner Mally, Nick made the decision to acquire a tattoo as a way to remember Mally. He positioned it on the rear of his leg, and it is a tattoo of a dog paw print with the word Mally printed over it in bold style.

Nick believed getting the tattoo was something he could do to honor and remember Mally, his partner who had assisted him in their duty together and whom he missed much. He was relieved to see Derek at the outpost since it meant he might finally receive some of the answers he had been seeking.

Every six months, Nick called the Lackland Air Force Station to see how Mally was doing and to inquire about whether or not she was getting close to retirement. However, he consistently got the same response, which was a resounding “no.”

Nick was unable to fathom the reasoning behind the base’s decision to stop communicating with him. After having spoken with them every six months for the past few years, all he got now was dead air.

Nick’s realization that he would never be able to adopt Mally was sealed when the communication lines went silent. At that point, one of his other pals stepped in to help. Donn Durgan detested the fact that his friend seemed to be suffering because of Mally.

After coming to this realization, Donn proceeded to do something quite remarkable–he called United States Senator Mike Crapo. He explained Nick’s circumstances to the senator and how he longed to bring home his canine bomb-sniffing companion. 

Nick was subjected to a whirlwind of emotional torment for a number of years because he was waiting for his partner’s adoption. He didn’t want to risk having his hopes or emotions destroyed again, so he didn’t let them surface. He had practically surrendered on the application process, thinking there was no use in continuing.

Nick did not have the letter in his possession for more than a day before he was contacted by phone by the colonel who was situated at Lackland Air Station. He expressed regret over the lack of contact and even addressed Nick using a first-name basis.

Nick had been through a lot, but he finally got a phone call concerning Mally seven years after they had parted ways and almost three years after having surrendered Mally’s adoption proceedings. Mally’s time in the military was almost up, and she was getting ready to leave.

When Nick got the call, he was working at Clearwater Paper, where he had a job. He stated that the news caused his stomach to plummet when he heard it. Mally was, at last, making her way back home after being delayed for years due to barriers and getting no response from the military.

Nick was unable to contain his excitement. His thoughts were racing with the various possibilities of life together with Mally. She would finally become a member of the family alongside his young daughter. It was decided that they would go hiking and camping, and he would actually allow her to sleep on the bed with him!

Mally had spent her entire life working, initially as a bird dog and later as a sniffing dog. She had never known a life without a job. It was time for her to hang up her leash and settle into the life of an ordinary, lazy family dog.

Nick began to feel as though he had reached yet another impasse when it came to the travel arrangements and the money necessary to bring Mally back. Then, Mission K9 Rescue came to assist in the situation.

It wasn’t just Mission K9 Rescue that was interested in assisting Nick and Mally; other people did as well. Because Nick’s friend Mally was so important to him, the mother of another one of Nick’s friends decided to create a donation page for them.

Nick was completely taken aback by the amount of money that was being donated. But he was confident that Mally would pull through this just fine. As a result, Nick decided to give the money raised to a pair of charitable organizations.

Nick’s arrival at Lackland Military Base was long overdue, but finally, the day he had been waiting for had come. His long-term contact greeted him at the door and led him inside, where he was instructed to fill out certain legal paperwork.

Nick couldn’t believe his eyes when he first saw Mally. Finally, after all those difficult years of longing, he got back together with his former buddy. It appeared as though Mally hadn’t forgotten about him either.

After a long journey, Nick and Mally arrived in Idaho. Nick was taken aback by the large number of people who greeted them upon their arrival. A motorcade accompanied them as they crossed Memorial Bridge, and Mally didn’t think twice about sticking her head out the window to take in a new atmosphere.

He was astonished to see people lined up along the bridge waving American flags and holding homemade signs as they cheered for passing vehicles. Nick’s story moved them, and they were thrilled to hear that he and his partner had ended up together again.