On NBC’s TODAY show, Meredith Vieira had guests, Marine pilot, Maj. Brian Dennis and his dog, Nubs. Nubs, with his ears cut off near his skull, is one of the few lucky dogs rescued from Iraq and brought to the United States by a Marine officer.
Dennis didn’t choose Nubs though, Nubs chose him.
“As soon as I met him, he just kind of jumped up and I started playing with him,” Dennis said. “The first time we ever met, he just kind of flipped over. I started rubbing his belly. Really, my whole team, we just kind of bonded with him as soon as we met him.”
One day, Dennis was on patrol and when he returned to base, he was shocked to see Nubs badly wounded.
“He had a big wound on his left side,” Dennis told Vieira. “One of the Iraqis told me that one of the soldiers had gotten mad and stabbed him with a big screwdriver. He looked terrible. We didn’t think he was going to make it. He was all infected. It was bad.”
Dennis took Nubs home, applied antibacterial ointment and slept with him. Dennis expected the worst, but the next morning, he awoke to a happy and recovering Nubs.
Shortly thereafter, Dennis and his Marines were assigned to the Iraq-Jordan border (about 75 miles away). Nubs wasn’t able to come with them because of the “no pet” policy. As the Humvee departed, the soldiers saw Nubs running after the car and Dennis thought that was their final goodbye.
However, it turned out to be just the beginning. Nubs somehow followed them, and was thrilled to see Dennis. Though there was a strict “no pet” policy, the gang built him a doghouse anyway. Everything was fine until someone complained and they were told that Nubs had to go.
Dennis couldn’t bare for Nubs to die in Iraq, so with the help of friends and good samaritans, they raised the needed $5,000 donation. Nubs flew to Jordan, Chicago, and arrived in San Diego in March 2008; Dennis followed a month later.
Dennis was so touched by Nubs that he wrote a children’s book called “Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle.”
Today, Dennis and Nubs are happily adjusted in San Diego.
Images via Marine Corps Times and Amazon
Video via MSNBC
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