A dog is frequently called "man’s best friend." Throughout the United States, many families have a dog as a treasured friend. When people come home after a bad day, it is always a welcome sight to see your canine pal wagging his tail at your entrance.
Different breeds do different things for their masters. A hunting dog will go into the field and point pheasants. A retriever will plunge into icy water to retrieve a downed duck. When a dog comes from two or three different breeds of dogs, he is called a mutt. This kind of dog frequently has a good disposition and makes an excellent pet. A mutt is usually exceedingly loyal to his owner.
Major Brian Dennis found such a dog during a tour of duty in Iraq, and has written an interesting account of his relationship with this dog. The name of this touching book is "Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle."
In October 2007, three military vehicles roll into an outpost in the Iraqi desert. Major Brian Dennis deploys his soldiers at this small fort. The nights are cold and there is little water or vegetation in the area. The soldiers soon see a pack of dogs approaching their compound. One dog’s ears have been cut nearly off. This dog is the leader of the pack and carefully walks up to Major Dennis. It is clear that his dog has had an extremely hard life, but he wants the Major to pet him. The commander finds the dog to be extremely intelligent and quickly teaches him tricks like shaking hands.
A fond relationship begins to grow between the two and Dennis names the dog "Nubs" because of his short ears. On the long military watches in the night, Nubs accompanies the Major on patrol. Both man and dog help keep the fort safe.
But the Marines move to a new outpost and Nubs is left behind. Fortunately for Nubs, the soldiers return to his area several times and he runs up to Major Dennis to be petted. But the war has been very hard on Nubs and he now has a wound in his side. The Marines tenderly care for the injured dog and Nubs begins to get better. Dennis frequently rubs Nubs’ stomach, which the dog enjoys immensely.
But the Marines are ordered to the Jordanian border, 70 miles away. Marine orders do not allow the Major to keep Nubs, so as the soldiers leave, Nubs again is left alone in a hostile desert. But Nubs’ love for Major Dennis is so strong that he limps to his feet and begins a staggering journey to the far-off border. Though a dangerous desert, Nubs pushes on in his quest to find Dennis. Finally he sees something that looks familiar and one of the soldiers shouts to Major Dennis: "You are not going to believe who’s here."
So did Nubs find Major Dennis? Does the Marine Corps allow the two to stay together? What set of events change Nubs’ hard-scrapple life into that a famous celebrity? What wonderful ending happens for both Nubs and Major Dennis?
To find out, go to the library and check out this lovely story of friendship between a caring Marine and a gallant dog.
This book won the Golden Sower Award by being voted the most popular K-3 book in Nebraska in 2012/2013. It is an endearing story that you will delight in reading with the younger members of your family. A story that just can’t be beat, I hope you get a chance to enjoy the book as much as I did. A beautiful tale like this doesn’t come around very often. Enjoy!
