A working military dog was reunited with his beloved handler after three years apart.
Frenky, a 10-year-old German Shepherd, served with Army Ssg. Kristin Vanderzanden, 34, for nearly four and a half years — including a nine-month combat tour in Afghanistan and a 10-month combat tour in Iraq. During their time together, the pair completed roughly 20 Secret Service missions, including protecting the U.S. president, vice president, first lady and several foreign dignitaries, according to the American Humane Society (AHS).
Frenky — while known for staying calm and collected under pressure, even in the face of sniper fire and mortar rounds — was also beloved for his “sweet” and “goofy” personality when off-duty. He soon became an unofficial mascot for his base and boosted morale for his fellow soldiers, per an interview Vanderzanden did with the AHS.
Frenky and Vanderzanden were ultimately separated in 2021 when Vanderzanden was reassigned to Fort Drum in northern New York. She recalled feeling heartbroken to leave Frenky at Fort Johnson in Louisiana, describing the experience as “like leaving a child behind.”
“He’s had a huge impact on my life,” she said during the interview. “I’ve been in the Army for about eight years now, and I spent four and a half of those years with him. We went through a lot together, both in my career and in my personal life. He was my one constant for those four and a half years through everything.”
Vanderzanden said she had a few opportunities to visit Frenky since she was reassigned, but never took them because she decided seeing him would “be harder than anything else.”
She also said that while she “always held out hope a little bit in the back of my mind” that she might one day adopt the canine, she had “honestly given up on him retiring.”
“He’s just one of those working dogs that was really born for the job,” she added.
However, Vanderzanden shared that she learned that Frenky was set to retire from a friend and former colleague in the summer of 2024. At that point, she immediately reached out to the AHS in the hopes they could help reunite them through their Military Working Dog Reunification program.
She learned of the program, which is specifically designed to help current and former military personnel reunite with their military dogs, from a close friend who used the program to reunite with his own retired military dog.
A representative from the AHS ultimately picked up Frenky from Fort Johnson in Louisiana and personally escorted him to his new home with Vanderzanden in San Antonio. In addition to covering all transportation costs of the reunification, the organization will provide free veterinary care for the rest of Frenky’s life.
“Now that he [Frenky] is retired, I just want to be able to give him an actual dog life,” Vanderzanden said during her interview. “He really loves working, but I just want him to be able to relax and live what we call ‘the couch life.’ “
“He is so good with people and different stimuli, so I really want to be able to take him to parks and some of the dog-friendly restaurants around San Antonio. That’s stuff that I’ve always wanted to be able to do with him, and it’s exciting that I have that opportunity now,” she added.
Those interested in contributing to the American Humane Society’s Military Working Dog Reunification program, and helping other dogs like Frenky reunite with their handlers, can donate here.
