US Soldier & Iraqi Dog Bond For Life
(My Paper, 5 May 2008)
[San Diego] They spent months in an Iraqi war zone, cementing a special bond.
Marine Major Brian Dennis and Nubs, the dog, were then separated, as the American soldier sent it over to San Diego in February, a month before his tour of duty ended.
But, even with the month apart, the dog appeared to have a long memory of his Iraqi pal, reported San Diego Union Tribune.
The two-year old dog, named for his two nubby ears, drenched Major Dennis' face with doggie kisses, as the duo were reunited at San Diego's Camp Pendelton in March.
Major Dennis, an F-18 pilot stationed at Miramar Marine Corp Air Station, was among about 150 Marines to return home after seven months in Iraq.
Nubs, a German sheperd/border collie mix, came to San Diego a month earlier after friends, family and strangers raised US$3,500 (S$4,773) for the dog's trip out of the border region between Iraq and Syria.
"It's almost like 'Lassie Come Home' in Iraq," said Major Dennis' mother, Marsha Cargo, who anxiously waited for the unit's arrival in the wee hours of the morning.
Major Dennis met Nubs in Al-Anbar province, where the dog ran wild at an Iraqi border fort. When Nubs was a puppy, an Iraqi sliced off most of his ears in an attempt to make the dog tough and more alert.
Hence, the name Nubs.
Another time, Nubs was stabbed with a screwdriver, and Major Dennis nursed him back to health.
When his unit, the Border Transition Team, moved camp 112km away, Nubs somehow tracked them to their new place two days later.
It was against the rules to keep the dog in camp, and friends jumped in to bring Nubs to San Diego.
"Once he found us there, it seemed like this was supposed to have happened," Major Dennis said.
"After he walked all that distance, it seemed like he was supposed to end up in San Diego."
For the past month, Eric Sjoberg, one of Major Dennis' Marine buddies, has been caring for Nubs along with his other dog, Bogey.
Nubs has also been learning new tricks and how to adjust in a different environment with some help from a dog trainer.
"After running two years out in the desert, he's got a personality on him," Mr Sjoberg said.
Major Dennis said his first outing with Nubs will be a jog on the beach.
"It will consumate the whole journey," he said, "going from the sand of Iraq to the sand of San Diego".
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