we have had great stories about soldiers coming home and reuniting with family. they never get old. especially when kids are involved. this is another reunion story that involves family if you believe as so many of us do that your family includes your dog. tampa s wfts reports. good boy. reporter: thousands of miles away from home serving in kuwait, sergeant mark stanhope met steve, a dog that made a war zone seem a lit bit luke hope. just something to distract you from your mission and stuff look that to where you could just forget about your troubles and like do what you do at home in america. reporter: one night steve got attacked by another animal. some said he would have to be put down, but stanhope knew there was another option. a lot of people said we should try to adopt him. there were hoops to jump through. reporter: the sergeant decided he would jump through the hoops and formed friend of
steve and with the help of fundraisers raised $1,800 to bring steve to america. we think steve is look our, you know, refugee that we liberated and brought back to america. he served plenty of duty over there helping soldiers out, two, three years. reporter: steve arrived in the u.s. first. the sergeant came months later. now the two are reunited. first, he didn t recognize me until he got up close and smelled me. then he exploded with happiness. jumping, wagging his tail, barking, squeaking. he remembered me. reporter: a bond the two formed. something that lives on. not just a souvenir that you put in a photo album. a living sample of what we do for people and other animals. a living sample. showing we care. made them more human as opposed to worrying about the war effort. reporter: looking at steve will always be a reminder of why the sergeant chose to serve our country. how sweet. love to see the two together. i know you love the animal stories, rob. those guys. yeah