CULVER, Ind. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- An Army Veteran from Northern Indiana is a week away from an emotional reunion with an old friend.
Joseph Steenbeke lives in Culver, Indiana, which is near South Bend. He served alongside Tess, the bomb stiffing dog in Afghanistan. But, he hasn't seen the Belgian Malinois since his tour of duty ended in 2013.
Steenbeke said he's spent the past five years working to adopt Tess. He said they had a special relationship. He has her ID number tattooed on his arm.
"Friendship and teamwork down to its very core where I had to do my best to keep her alive and she did her best to keep me alive," he said.
Steenbeke credits the small army of people, including Congresswoman Jackie Walorski, for moving his adoption request through the federal bureaucracy.
He said he's going to Lackland Air Force Base in Texas next Friday to pick her up, and bring Tess to her new home in Indiana.
"Give her a couple tennis balls that I saved that she used to play with in Afghanistan and just loving up on her as much as possible," he said.
