Sgt. 1st Class Luciano Yulfo served 36 years in the military including in Iraq and Afghanistan before he was injured in 2014 while on duty.
He spent two years recovering at Walter Reed Hospital before retiring in April.
For 18 months he was on a waiting list for a service dog to help.
Within minutes during halftime Wednesday at the Knicks game, Yulfo not only was honored on court and given a personalized jersey, but was surprised to meet Murphy, a service dog from Paws of War, a charity that offers the animals to veterans.
Yulfo immediately took to his knees and gave the puppy a kiss. The two briefly played on the hardwood before leaving for their new lives together.
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