INDIANAPOLIS — Some Hoosier soldiers stationed at a remote military base in Africa found an unexpected surprise.
They found a litter of puppies before they headed home.
A group called Paws of War, which has been around since 2014 supporting veterans and first responders rescuing animals in war zones overseas, helped rescue those five pups.
Before the dogs were rescued by Paws of War, U.S. Army soldiers first noticed two dogs at their base. The dad dog died and the mother later gave birth to five puppies.
Soldiers say she then disappeared, leaving the pups to fend for themselves.
On Wednesday, 13News captured the moments the soldiers were reunited with the puppies.
Sonny Clark adopted Wazu.
He said his daughter begged him for a puppy before he deployed and he had no idea he would grow so close to Wazu.
"I haven't gotten to see him in three months and we just didn't know if he was going to make it, how things were going to go and they're here and it's awesome," said Clark.
Zach Green adopted Josie.
Green says Josie's parents were the protectors of the airfield where they were stationed and once the dad passed away, the mom never came back.
"She couldn't take care of them and survive sort of in the jungle as best as she could so we kind of filled in the gaps. We didn't exactly have dog food or medicine or veterinary services, but we did our best giving them our leftover food and water and tried to bathe them and stuff," said Green.
Paws of War says this was the most challenging rescue.
The one road leading into that military base where the puppies were became flooded.
Time was of the essence.
Locals had to use push carts, boats, even donkeys to get the pups to safety.
"Today is extra special for me because, having served I get to be on this side of the fence serving my brothers and sisters and reuniting them with the pups they rescued," said Angelique Williams, one of the transporters with Paws of War.
Every animal Paws of War rescues costs between $6,000 to $10,000. For more information, visit PawsofWar.org.