In a story on local television, a guy saw a dog named Reggie who was living in a shelter and needed an owner. The guy really liked the Labrador, and he wanted to take it away. Along with Reggie, the shelter gave him some tennis balls, a bowl, and a letter that the animal’s former owner had left for the staff.
The relationship between Reggie and his new owner did not get along from day one. The dog simply ignored all the commands and requests of the man, not responding when he was called. In addition to his disobedience the Labrador destroyed a pair of expensive shoes of his owner.
The guy decided he was going to give Reggie back to the shelter. He started looking for a piece of paper with a volunteer number on it, but instead he came across a note from the previous owner. When he opened and read the letter, he read the story of his pet.
The letter was written by Paul Mallory, a soldier who cared for the dog until he deployed to Iraq. The command was against the soldier taking the dog with him on his deployment. In the letter, Paul wrote about how to approach a wayward Labrador.
According to the man, the dog likes to run after tennis balls and also knows several commands. The man listed them in the letter. The man also wrote about the dog’s health and that his name was not Reggie, but Tank.
Paul was all alone. His parents were dead and he had no family, so there was no one to leave the dog with while he was away on a business trip. Paul put the dog in a shelter for the time of his departure, asking him to find a good family for the dog in the event of his death.
The letter was touching, and the boy realized he couldn’t give Tank back to the shelter. Taking Paul’s advice, he befriended the dog and soon they were inseparable.
