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After his tours of duty were completed, Howard was brought back to the United States, and was put up for adoption.  He was adopted by former Hoke County Sheriff’s Deputy Deon Fuller.  Things seemed to be going well and Howard seemed to be adjusting to civilian life quite well.

Alex Reimer, a retired veteran with the U.S. Army, was the man responsible for training and serving along side Howard overseas.  The two had formed a very strong bond with one another, and upon retiring, Reimer wanted to have Howard back as a pet, and therapy dog.

At first, Fuller wasn’t having it.  Howard had been adopted fair and square in his opinion, and was refusing to give Howard back to Reimer.  In response, Reimer set up a Facebook page entitled Bring Howard Home (to view it, click here).

Fuller continued to insist that Howard was rightfully his, as he adopted the dog after his retirement from the military.  He straight refused to even entertain the idea of handing Howard over to Reimer.

Yesterday however, Fuller seemed to change his mind and decided that Howard should go back to Reimer. No word on why the change of heart from Fuller happened, but it is suspected that Fuller lost his job over the national attention the case got.

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“He saved not only my life, but there were weapons in that van that night that could have been turned on us and there could have been an IED in there,” said Reimer.  “There was an IED in that same van two days later which saved some other people’s lives.”

Reimer, a Minnesota native, now lives in Colorado.  He hasn’t seen Howard since his tour of duty closed out in 2013.  He was searching for Howard, and found that he had been made a part of someone else’s family.

Reimer claims that Howard’s new family cares very little for him.  Reimer says that the dog is constantly tethered to a tree in the yard, and shows almost no interaction with him.  He believes that this is now way to be treating a dog that is an American hero.  Reimer also suffers from PTSD, and thinks having Howard will make things easier.

“I dream about the times that me and Howard had together, the rough times and good times,” said Reimer.  “It’s just… Just tough knowing your best friend is out there tied to a tree and not being taken care of to the best their ability.”

Deon Fuller, Howard’s new human dad says that Reimer’s claims are untrue.  Fuller is a Hoke County Sheriff’s Deputy, and says he Loves Howard very much, and gives him only the best of treatment.

“As of right now I’m saying Howard is my dog and he is home with myself and my family,” Fuller said.

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