Preloading

A Dog Who Saved Lives in Afghanistan Finds a Home with a U.S. Soldier

Aired on 10/04/2010 | CC tv-pg
Sgt. Terry Young of the 48th Infantry Brigade left for Afghanistan in July 2009. In about five months, wild dogs started showing up. There was Sasha, Target and Rufus, who had exceptionally floppy ears. Then, on February 11, 2010, a suicide bomber tried to make his way into the compound. The dogs attacked before he could get all the way through the door, at which point he detonated himself. The dogs sustained major injuries; Sasha did not survive, but Target and Rufus managed to recover.

If the dogs hadn't been there, Terry says, he and many of his friends might have died. After his deployment, Terry managed to get Target and Rufus flown back to the United States. Rufus ended up staying with Sgt. Chris Duke in Georgia, and Terry kept Target.

Here, Target receives a hero's welcome on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Original airdate: October 4, 2010

Want to know what's coming up on OWN? Sign up for the This Week on OWN Newsletter!