Watch the Reunion of a Veteran With the Dogs He Surrendered to a Shelter After Suffering a Heart Attack

A veteran was given an early Christmas gift that left him in tears: He has been reunited with his dogs.

The veteran, identified only as James, was forced to surrender his dogs to a local shelter after suffering a heart attack in September, according to a GoFundMe page set up by the shelter.

The shelter agreed to care for the dogs temporarily while the veteran recovered, but after learning that he was extremely ill and “may not make it,” the shelter decided to place the dogs — Bailey and Blaze — up for adoption.

But the dogs were never adopted.

As soon as he was well enough to care for the dogs, James contacted the shelter and put a deposit down for their adoption. He asked them to hold the dogs for a few days because he needed some time to gather the rest of the money.

That’s when shelter staff and volunteers decided to step in.

They gathered the funds for the adoption fee as well as additional supplies James would need to care for Bailey and Blaze.

When James returned to put another deposit down for the dogs, his initial deposit was returned, and he was told that his dogs were going home with him.

“I didn’t even bring their leashes,” an emotional James told the shelter volunteers after profusely thanking them.

The video of their reunion has gone viral.