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Meet the leading man and dog behind the children’s book — Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle
by Rebecca Klein
They clicked instantly and dined together the day they met — sharing a ready-to-eat military meal of spaghetti, beans, rice and a strawberry Pop-Tart. The fast friends, a Marine and a mutt, met near an Iraqi desert military fort and thanks to a miracle, are now family.
In the just released children’s book, Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle (Little, Brown, 2009), Major Brian Dennis and co-authors, Kirby Larson and Mary Nethery, chronicle an inspirational, odds-defying story of friendship. “This is a book for everyone, no matter what age,” shares Major Dennis. “I think Nubs’ story shows that if your heart is open to kindness, good things can happen anywhere.”
In 2007, while in Iraq to train Iraqi soldiers, Major Dennis befriended and named the leader of a pack of wild dogs. “…I knew right away he was special,” he says of the abused and hungry, German shepherd-Border collie, with little “nubs” where his ears had been cut off to turn him into a “dog of war.” “He made us smile and responded to our kindness when he had no reason to trust humans after what he’d been through.”
In an interview, Major Dennis explains that some Iraqi soldiers use the packs as alert dogs and remove their ears to make them “tougher, more alert supposedly.”
He and Nubs grew closer and continued seeing each other when Major Dennis visited the fort. After the marine and his unit relocated 70 miles away, despite the distance, below freezing temperatures and other dangers, Nubs arrived at the new location just two days later. “It’s still a bit of a mystery. I think it was a combination of tracking the smell of the vehicles… and maybe visually tracking the tire tracks,” he believes.
Only, two soldiers then reported that the no pet policy was broken. Major Dennis had just four days to find somewhere for Nubs to go, something he now calls a blessing in disguise. “Without them telling on us and making us scramble to save Nubs, he probably wouldn’t be my dog.” The Marine’s friends and family helped rally to raise the money needed to bring Nubs to the Marine’s hometown of San Diego, where the two soon reunited following Major Dennis’ tour.
Major Dennis’ co-authors, whose work includes a tale about a cat and dog that survived Hurricane Katrina, expressed interest in telling Nubs’ story after reading a newspaper account. The children’s book is set to a backdrop of powerful photographs taken as the friendship began and includes portions of emails Major Dennis sent to friends and family.
Nubs has since accompanied Major Dennis on the Today show, Ellen and the Tonight Show with Conan O’Brian. While Nubs can’t trail him on his upcoming deployment, he and his big “brother,” another rescue dog Major Dennis adopted, will stay with the Marine’s friends until their “dad” returns.
The theme of Modern Babies & Children’s upcoming edition is pets! Click here to register to receive an email alert when the new issue is posted online.
