Soldier Leaves Jordan Without the Stray Dog Who Helped Him Survive Deployment
Guest Contributor
On a dark November morning in Jordan, a young Connecticut soldier stepped off a bus and into a moment that would change his deployment and, ultimately, his life. U.S. Army Specialist Jeremy Ferris, serving with the Connecticut Army National Guard, had just arrived at Tower 22, a U.S. military outpost in Jordan, when he quite literally stumbled into the beginning of an unexpected bond: he tripped over a stray dog. That chance encounter set the stage for an emotional soldier and dog reunion that would eventually unfold back home in Newtown, Connecticut.
When Ferris woke on the bus, the world outside was pitch black. Navigating the unfamiliar outpost, he did not see the dog until it was too late and he nearly fell over her. The next morning, in the first light of day, he spotted the same dog again, this time chewing on a dangerous prize, a two-by-four with nails sticking out. He took it away from her, and she clearly did not appreciate the intervention in that moment, but as he later recalled, from there, a relationship blossomed.
The dog was a young Anatolian shepherd mix, about seven months old, living as a stray around Tower 22. Ferris named her Sadie. What began as a single encounter quickly evolved into a comforting routine that helped the soldier cope with the stress and isolation of a deployment far from home. He started bringing her food at breakfast and dinner. In return, Sadie greeted him with a wagging tail whenever he came back from missions, always staying near the same spot by the barracks building.
For Ferris, these moments with Sadie were more than just casual encounters with a friendly stray. He described how they would sit together on the ground for a few minutes at a time, and during those quiet stretches he could find “five seconds of relief” from the pressures of his work and the loneliness of being away from home. In a demanding environment where each day carried its own weight, those brief pauses with a pup who wanted nothing more than his presence meant everything.
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A few days after meeting Sadie, Ferris sent a photo of her to his wife Heather back in Newtown. Her reaction was immediate and clear. She told him they needed to bring Sadie home and began mailing dog toys to the base to prepare for that possibility. By the end of December, with the bond between soldier and dog deepening each day, Ferris knew he wanted Sadie to be part of their family in Connecticut.
Turning that dream into reality required help. The couple turned to Paws of War, a New York based animal protection organization that works to unite veterans and first responders with rescued animals. Ferris and his wife also connected with Tabanni, an animal rescue in Jordan dedicated to rescuing, rehabilitating, and rehoming stray dogs and cats. Together, these organizations would make Sadie’s journey from a Jordanian outpost to a Newtown backyard possible.
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Ferris explained that Paws of War handled the complex logistics involved in bringing an animal from a deployment zone to the United States. They took care of financial support, veterinary appointments, flight arrangements, and the maze of paperwork required. As Ferris put it, his only responsibility was to bring Sadie to the gate. With the demands of his military role already weighing heavily on him, he expressed deep appreciation that the organization shouldered the burden of the process and made everything feel straightforward and achievable.
In February, Ferris handed Sadie over to Paws of War. It was a significant moment, both hopeful and emotional, as his canine companion left Tower 22 ahead of him. While he remained in Jordan to continue his service, he received regular updates from those caring for Sadie. These came daily and weekly, with pictures and videos showing her progress and care. He would hear that she had received a particular vaccination, or see her stretched out on a bed surrounded by toys.
For a dog that had been essentially a wild animal, those updates highlighted a transformation. Ferris recalled that when she lived around the outpost, he would give her tennis balls and she would ignore them in favor of chewing on rocks. Watching her begin to act like a dog in a safe environment, learning to enjoy toys and comfort, became another source of reassurance during his deployment.
From start to finish, the process of bringing Sadie from Jordan to the United States took about four months. As that effort unfolded, Ferris eventually completed his own time overseas and returned home to Newtown on August 19. Heather had already started preparing their home for Sadie’s arrival, anticipating the day her husband would reunite with the dog who had helped him through some of his most challenging months.
Paws of War did not just manage Sadie’s travel. They also provided many of the supplies she would need in her new life in Connecticut, including multiple leashes, a harness, two collars, and a wire crate. As the days counted down to her arrival, the anticipation grew. Ferris admitted that waiting for Sadie to arrive was difficult and that he was extremely excited to have her home.
That long-awaited reunion finally happened on a Thursday morning in early September, when Sadie arrived at the Ferris home in Newtown. After months of picturing the moment, Ferris watched as Sadie stepped onto soft grass, a stark contrast to the rock and dirt landscape of Jordan where their friendship had begun. Within moments, Sadie approached him and greeted him with a kiss, clearly overwhelmed by the sights, sounds, and emotions of her new surroundings.
Ferris described the reunion as surreal, almost as if it did not feel real at first. Beneath that sense of disbelief was deep gratitude that she was finally home. Reflecting on their time together overseas, he shared that when he first arrived in the Middle East he was far from home and struggling with the emotional weight of deployment. In his words, Sadie saved him. She gave him a sense of belonging, a feeling that he was part of something beyond the mission and the daily routine of military life. Bringing her to Newtown felt like his opportunity to return the favor.
Now that Sadie has arrived, she is slowly adjusting to her new environment and to her new canine sibling, Sonny, a husky cattle dog mix who already lived with the Ferris family. In her first hours in Connecticut, Sadie spent much of her time relaxing in the backyard, taking in her surroundings and settling into the quieter rhythms of life far from an outpost in Jordan.
The story of Jeremy and Sadie is both personal and widely relatable. It highlights the powerful bond that can form between humans and animals, especially in difficult circumstances. In a remote military base, a stray puppy offered a few precious seconds of calm to a soldier shouldering the strain of war zone duties. Months later, that same soldier rearranged his life to ensure the dog who had comforted him could share in the safety and love of his home. As Ferris put it, he is overwhelmed and excited to be home and to begin this new adventure with Sadie, now not just a stray from Tower 22 but a cherished member of a Newtown family.