Ruth Ann went to the animal shelter to find a cute, little, white female dog — though life doesn’t always go as planned. Instead, she brought home an 80-pound male Husky-Shepherd mix who was abused, underweight, and rough around the edges.

The video below, “A Boy and His Dog,” is a beautiful narrative that describes the incredible relationship between Ruth Ann’s partner Larry and his service dog Thunder. Larry is 100% disabled as a result of the time he served in Vietnam. Larry has speech issues and is blind in his right eye — and when his doctors suggested he get a service dog after suffering a bout of strokes, Larry and Ruth Ann decided to re-train Thunder to be a certified service dog. Thunder proved a worthy guide; for example, he instinctively knew to walk on Larry’s right side to prevent him from bumping into anything.

Through a series of emotional and humorous anecdotes, the close friendship between this “boy” and his dog is made crystal clear. Through Larry, we get to know the ins and outs of Thunder. Thunder is 12 years old. He has arthritis in his back legs. He hates loud noises. He loves to swim. He loves to travel. He can be stubborn. He loves kids. He’s Ruth Ann’s pet, but Larry’s service dog — and he knows the difference, especially when wearing his red service coat.

There’s a funny story about Thunder getting stuck between the driver’s seat and the pedals in Ruth Ann’s car, and how it took her 20 minutes to get him out. But more than that, this short film portrays a love story like no other. Celebrate the incredible journey that comes with owning a dog, and please SHARE this video with your friends on Facebook.