John Nyerghes and Ranger, his K9, stayed in Afghanistan for two years. The Army explosives experts and his canine sidekick discovered explosives and survived firefights together. It was quite a ride for the two; unfortunately, it had to come to an end. Nyerghes had to return to the United States and Ranger had to stay in Afghanistan.
Memories of Afghanistan
Nyerghes has a lot of fond memories with Ranger in Afghanistan. Most of the time, it was just the veteran and the K9 so they really had to watch each other’s back. There were several instances that they got shot and Nyerghes had to call Ranger to come back. The amazing thing is that he did, every single time.
Two years in the making
When their mission in Afghanistan ended, Nyerghes looked for Ranger. He searched far and wide but he just couldn’t keep up with him. Ranger kept doing well in his missions; he was always re-assigned to another country.
The long search ended when he got in touch with Greg Meredith, a volunteer at the Mt. Hope Kennel K9 Warrior Rescue. Meredith partnered with Mission K9 Rescue that year to find forever homes for K9s who were abandoned by their contractors.
Ranger was among those K9s and Meredith had a special place in his heart for him. The K9 was in and out for a while after suffering from a terrible infection. His life was in danger and he needed immediate medical intervention to survive.
Meredith nursed Ranger back to health and it was tough for him to let the dog go. However, he knew that Ranger was meant to be with Nyerghes. Meredith surprised the veteran by meeting him at the Cleveland Hopkins Airport. Ranger appeared out of nowhere and showered him with slobbery kisses.
Credits to Cleveland 19
