You never know where life is going to take you. Firefighter and veteran Kyle Walker came across a stray dog while on a vacation with his girlfriend Emily.
The two were on a trip to Bosnia. That's when they saw a "light golden-colored dog with a big beautiful tail limping on the side of the road." At first, Walker tried to honk to get the animal away from the highway. He didn't want the animal to get hit by a car.
"When I beeped, the look on her face was devastating to me; she looked terrified and somehow looked directly at me," Walker told People. The look shook the veteran to his core. He decided to turn the car around and go back to the dog. "She looked at me with her head low and tail wagging. I knew we were going to be okay. I put my hand out, and she gave me a lick and stared at me."
The two quickly formed a bond, and the veteran tried to think of a way that he could help the animal.
"I had total trust in this dog, and I believe she had total trust in me. As we were there on the side of a highway with the occasional car passing by, there were prolonged moments of silence as we were both running through what was happening in our heads. Naturally, I started picking names, and Emily was saying there was no way we could pull this off," Walker recalled.
Stray Dog Finds Home
He knew then that he wanted to somehow adopt her.
"I felt so bad for her. I had to get her in the car. [And] I could see the fleas everywhere," Walker said. "I picked her up, and as I did, she looked up and gave me a lick under my chin and mouth. Now loaded up, Emily, Ginny, and I headed back to the town, not knowing what to do next."
They ended up contacting Paws of War. The organization helps service members connect with animals rescued during their deployments. The organization agreed to help Walker get the stray dog shipped to the United States. The veteran ended up naming her Ginny.
"Ginny is a sweet-tempered and affectionate dog that I cannot wait to give an amazing life to. I knew from the moment she stared up at me on the side of the road that she was getting to America one way or another," Walker said. "Ginny will have a fantastic life near the ocean in the summer, mountains in the fall, wood stove in the winter, and long walks in the spring. She will be visiting my fire station to see her dad at work and will be part of my growing family."
