It's no wonder why people love there dogs they way they do, they will risk there life and are loyal to the very end. I thought this was pretty cool of the Marine to do what he did for the dog. hope it's not a dupe.

Link.

When Maj. Brian Dennis of the United States Marine Corps met a wild stray dog with shorn ears while serving in Iraq, he had no idea of the bond they would form, leading to seismic changes in both their lives. "The general theme of the story of Nubs is that if you're kind to someone, they'll never forget you –– whether it be person or animal," Dennis tells Paw Nation.

In October 2007, Dennis and his team of 11 men were in Iraq patrolling the Syrian border. One day, as his team arrived at a border fort, they encountered a pack of stray dogs –– not uncommon in the barren, rocky desert that was home to wolves and wild dogs.

"We all got out of the Humvee and I started working when this dog came running up," recalls Dennis. "I said, 'Hey buddy' and bent down to pet him." Dennis noticed the dog's ears had been cut. "I said, 'You got little nubs for ears.'" The name stuck. The dog whose ears had been shorn off as a puppy by an Iraqi soldier (to make the dog "look tougher," Dennis says) became known as Nubs.

Dennis fed Nubs scraps from his field rations, including bits of ham and frosted strawberry Pop Tarts. "I didn't think he'd eat the Pop Tart, but he did," says Dennis.

At night, Nubs accompanied the men on night patrols. "I'd get up in the middle of the night to walk the perimeter with my weapon and Nubs would get up and walk next to me like he was doing guard duty," says Dennis.

The next day, Dennis said goodbye to Nubs, but he didn't forget about the dog. He began mentioning Nubs in emails he wrote to friends and family back home. "I found a dog in the desert," Dennis wrote in an email in October 2007. "I call him Nubs. We clicked right away. He flips on his back and makes me rub his stomach."

"Every couple of weeks, we'd go back to the border fort and I'd see Nubs every time," says Dennis. "Each time, he followed us around a little more." And every time the men rumbled away in their Humvees, Nubs would run after them. "We're going forty miles an hour and he'd be right next to the Humvee," says Dennis. "He's a crazy fast dog. Eventually, he'd wear out, fall behind and disappear in the dust."

On one trip to the border fort in December 2007, Dennis found Nubs was badly wounded in his left side where he'd been stabbed with a screwdriver. "The wound was infected and full of pus," Dennis recalls. "We pulled out our battle kits and poured antiseptic on his wound and force fed him some antibiotics wrapped in peanut butter." That night, Nubs was in so much pain that he refused food and water and slept standing up because he couldn't lay down. Dennis and his team left again the next day, but Dennis thought about Nubs the entire time, hoping the dog was still alive.


Two weeks later, when Dennis and his team returned, he found Nubs alive and well. "I had patched him up and that seemed to be a turning point in how he viewed me," says Dennis. This time, when Dennis and his team left the fort, Nubs followed. Though the dog lost sight of the Humvees, he never gave up. For two days, Nubs endured freezing temperatures and packs of wild dogs and wolves, eventually finding his way to Dennis at a camp an incredible 70 miles south near the Jordanian border.

"There he was, all beaten and chewed up," says Dennis. "I knew immediately that Nubs had crossed through several dog territories and fought and ran, and fought and ran," says Dennis. The dog jumped on Dennis, licking his face.

Most of the 80 men at the camp welcomed Nubs, even building him a doghouse. But a couple of soldiers complained, leading Dennis' superiors to order him to get rid of the dog. With his hand forced, Dennis decided that the only thing to do was bring Nubs to America. He began coordinating Nubs' rescue effort. Friends and family in the States helped, raising the $5,000 it would cost to transport Nubs overseas.

Finally, it was all arranged. Nubs was handed over to volunteers in Jordan, who looked after the dog and sent him onto to Chicago, then San Diego, where Dennis' friends waited to pick him up. Nubs lived with Dennis' friends and began getting trained by local dog trainer Graham Bloem of the Snug Pet Resort. "I focused on basic obedience and socializing him with dogs, people and the environment," says Bloem.

A month later, Dennis finished his deployment in Iraq and returned home to San Diego, where he immediately boarded a bus to Camp Pendleton to be reunited with Nubs. "I was worried he wouldn't remember me," says Dennis. But he needn't have worried. "Nubs went crazy," recalls Dennis. "He was jumping up on me, licking my head."

Dennis' experience with Nubs led to a children's picture book, called "Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle," published by Little, Brown for Young Readers. They have appeared on the Today Show and will be appearing on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien on Monday.

Was it destiny that Dennis met Nubs and brought him to America? "I don't know about that," says Dennis. "It's been a strange phenomenon. It's been a blessing. I get drawings mailed to me that children have drawn of Nubs with his ears cut off. It makes me laugh."

Too bad the other soldiers complained and he had to get rid of him, but then again maybe it was a blessing in disguise for the dog since he was sent to America.

very cool

Cool dog.

nice read.

There always has to be someone.  




Good story, and I'm glad BOTH of them are home.  

 

Awesome story. I wonder which of the soldiers complained.

I remember this story, posted here, when it originally came out.

It does the heart good to read it again and be reminded of those special dogs out there.

THe complainer would've got a blanket party........

You can help other servicemen/women bring home animals that they have adopted in Iraq/Afghanistan.  

Baghdad Pups

Awesome.

Stabbed with a screwdriver?


Very cool story, Bosco approves.

awesome story

never been in the military

but couldn't you figure out how to kick the shit out of the guy who complained ...

This story is going to be on the Military Channel on Nov 15 along with some other dogs rescued from overseas.

I'll have to mark my calander for that. thanks for the heads up.

Yeah it's called a blanket party and all are required to attend even the guest of dishonor...

Who in the fuck would complain about having the dog around?

Jesus Christ people. You're at war in the fucking desert, and a dog bothers you?

Some people aren't that bright.

care to guess who they voted for?  

Good story, very touching.

disease vector, and I hear some stray dogs can be quite vicious...though why anyone would complain in Nubs case is beyond me...

Isn't that the truth.





 

good dog stories make me smile

I had the pleasure of "accidentally" meeting Dennis and Nubs at Fort Desoto Park in St Pete FL, a year or so ago. I did not realize who they were when they first arrived at the park, until I saw that the press was covering it. It was then that I remembered something about them coming to the area to visit relatives, and it clicked.

Said hello, shook hands, thanked him for his service, and told him that is was pretty cool him bringing the dog home. Seemed like an average everyday guy. Dog was good looking.

Nubs at Ft DeSoto

Good story.

Was this a one time thing because he was here, or does he live in the area?

I'm 30 mins from there.

Great story.

Sure is!!! Good for him!!!!

I always like hearing stories like this.

Love hearing stories like this.  We got a dog back too, though under much sadder circumstances.

She was a great dog, absolutely hated Iraqis.  Barked her head off anytime one came around.

ETA:  A douchbag SGTMAJ threatened to shoot her  There is indeed always one.

Thanks for the link, I'm certainly going to be passing this one around.  

Great cause...and kudos to those who take it upon themselves to bring their four legged buddies home.

I approve of this story and it puts a damn big grin on my face.

I was wondering if it was higher ups that complained about Nubs.

From what I gathered in the news then, he was in town visiting family, but currently did not live here. He is however, from St Pete Beach.

Cool.

Saw a TV show about war dogs in Vietnam. They were interviewing the handlers and they all related the story that none of the dogs could return to the states as they were army property etc.. Every one of those guys broke into tears about leaving their dogs behind.

this story is just as moving as could be, im so happy to hear both of them are doing great

What kind of sorry son of a bitch would stab a dog with a screwdriver, I hope whoever did that gets a JDAM.

thats a great story