Abused Dog in Iraq Tracks Friendly Soldier 70 Miles

Their friendship began half way across the worl...
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Added: February 12, 2008
Their friendship began half way across the world in Iraq, when St. Petersburg native Major Brian Dennis encountered a mixed breed dog in Anbar Province. The dog had been savagely abused and his ears cut off.

The marine decided to call him Nubbs.

In e-mails to his mother, Marsha Cargo in Tierra Verde, Major Dennis wrote how he was "dumbfounded" when he learned Nubbs' ears were cut off purposely by an Iraqi to make him tough and more alert. Nubbs, he said, was ordained a fighting dog.

Four months passed, and the bond between man and his four legged friend grew. Nubbs, was dealt severe blows in his short life, including being stabbed by a screwdriver. The major shared his distress with mother.

"He tried sleeping with him that night because it was 18 degree temperature and he was afraid he was not going to live through the night. So out of his back pack, he took Neosporin and covered the wound," Cargo said.

Major Dennis nursed Nubbs back to health...and here is where this friendship takes a remarkable turn: Major Dennis was ordered to move his squadron 70 miles away. He complied.

His mother shared her son's surprise of a lifetime, "Two days later he was out there working on a vehicle in the front yard and all of a sudden here comes Nubbs. He had tracked Brian 70 miles across the desert in 18 degree temperature while being wounded."

Despite strict rules, Major Dennis wrote to his mother, he had to help this dog. "I won't even address the gauntlet. He had to run off a pack of dogs, wolves and god knows what else to get here...when he arrived he looked like he had been through a war zone," Dennis wrote.

Weeks went by, and Nubbs was dealt another blow,

"Someone told on them that they had the dog and they had 4 days to get rid of him or Nubbs was going to be shot," Cargo said.

That's when the Marine made it his mission to get Nubbs to safety. He wrote, "Nubbs was going to America, this dog had been through a lifetime of fighting war, abuse, and had tracked our team over 70 miles of harsh desert (and) was going to live the good life."

The major started an e-mail campaign that crisscrossed continents. Within two days there was three thousand dollars to bring Nubbs home.




"The hardest part was getting him across the Jordanian border," Cargo told us.

But, in keeping with the rest of this story, the duo defied the odds. Major Dennis was able to get Nubbs into Jordan. A family here in The U.S. will take care of him there until these friends can be reunited.

"I almost feel like Brian is his guardian angel and maybe he is Brian's guardian angel," Cargo said.