HERNDON, Pa. — Erik Skoog spent the last 29 hours traveling back from Afghanistan.
But before he made it to his home in New Jersey, he stopped at K9 Hero Haven near Herndon to pick up his dog.
"Choked me up. I just love this dog. He's so special. He's so smart," Skoog said.
Len is a six-year-old German Shephard who was stationed in Afghanistan as a bomb-sniffing dog. He worked with Erik until last July, when the K9 retired.
"We've been together for 24 hours, seven days a week for 5-6 years. To have to leave him broke my heart," Skoog said.
Erik needed a place for his dog to stay until he came home. Len is considered a difficult dog and couldn't just stay anywhere.
"Can be aggressive at times towards certain people if he feels threatened in any way. He also tends to be very protective of his person," Anne Gibbs said.
Anne Gibbs runs the nonprofit K9 Hero Haven. She takes in retired military, police, and U.S. customs and border protection dogs. She was happy to keep Len while Erik was overseas.
Erik tells Newswatch 16 that knowing Len was here with Anne in good hands took a lot of weight off his shoulders while he was in Afghanistan.
"I don't know what I would have done without her, honestly. I didn't know what I was going to do," Skoog said.
"It was great that I could provide Len a place to go and that he could still be able to go over and do his job and be at ease and not worry about his dog over here," Gibbs said.
Erik says Len never let him down in Afghanistan, and he will make sure Len has the best retirement.
"At home, he's got a great big yard and a couch and a Koi pond where he can watch the fish swim. We play ball," Skoog said.
Erik and Len even share a birthday which is next month. Erik plans to celebrate with his best friend.