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Nubs is reunited with Marine owner: F-18 pilot returns home to canine friend from Iraqi war zone
signonsandiego ^
| March 22, 2008
| Kristina Davis
Posted on 03/22/2008 4:23:03 PM PDT by Main Street
F-18 pilot returns home to canine friend from Iraqi war zone
They spent months in an Iraqi war zone cementing a special bond.
Marine Major Brian Dennis greets Nubs early Saturday morning at Camp Pendleton. But after more than a month of being apart, Marine Maj. Brian Dennis began to worry if Nubs the dog would still remember him, especially in a new place like San Diego.
Their reunion early Saturday at Camp Pendleton clearly showed otherwise.
The 2-year-old old dog, named for his two nubby ears, drenched Dennis' face with doggie kisses and said hello with excited whimpers.
You remember that, huh? Dennis said as he rubbed the dog's head.
Dennis, an F-18 pilot stationed at Miramar Marine Corp Air Station, was among several Marines to return home from a seven-month tour in Iraq early Saturday.
Among those who also returned was a group that fell in love with seven puppies and also had them brought back to San Diego. They plan to reunite with their new dogs at 3 p.m. at the Rancho Coastal Humane Society.
Nubs, a German shepherd/border collie mix, came to San Diego a month earlier after friends, family and complete strangers raised $3,500 for the dog's trip out of Iraq.
It's almost like 'Lassie Come Home' in Iraq, said Dennis' mother, Marsha Cargo, who anxiously waited for the unit's arrival in the wee hours of the morning.
Dennis met Nubs in the 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.
Another time, Nubs was stabbed with a screwdriver, and Dennis nursed him back to health.
When Dennis' unit, the Border Transition Team, moved camp 70 miles away, Nubs somehow tracked them to their new location 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, Dennis said Saturday. 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 Dennis' Marine buddies, has been caring for Nubs along with Dennis' other dog, Bogey.
Nubs has also been learning new tricks and how to behave 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, Sjoberg said.
Dennis said his first outing with Nubs will be a jog on the beach.
It will consummate the whole journey, going from the sand of Iraq to the sand of San Diego.
TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; US: California; Unclassified
KEYWORDS: doggieping; dogsofwar; iraq; marines; nubs; reunion; welcomehome
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To: Main Street
2
posted on
03/22/2008 4:25:21 PM PDT
by
Main Street
(Stuck in traffic)
To: Main Street
Great story. I’m happy for them both but I’m sure we’ll see negative opinions from those who don’t or won’t understand the devotion and bond that can form between a dog and man.
To: Main Street
Excellent...I’ve followed this story.
4
posted on
03/22/2008 4:31:14 PM PDT
by
blam
(Secure the border and enforce the law)
To: Joan Kerrey
well see negative opinions from those who dont or wont understand the devotion and bond that can form between a dog and manThen they're fools. Wonderful story.
5
posted on
03/22/2008 4:33:00 PM PDT
by
hsalaw
6
posted on
03/22/2008 4:33:54 PM PDT
by
combat_boots
(She lives! 22 weeks, 9.5 inches. Go, baby, go!)
To: Main Street
7
posted on
03/22/2008 4:41:37 PM PDT
by
WestCoastGal
(Character is throwing your Grandma under the bus while never “cringing” at what your pastor says.)
To: Main Street
8
posted on
03/22/2008 4:53:37 PM PDT
by
norton
To: Main Street
That’s such a great story. I remember when he was sending Nubs home to the states, and praying that he made it back to be reunited with him. I love happy endings!
9
posted on
03/22/2008 5:00:24 PM PDT
by
NRA2BFree
("The time is near at hand which must determine whether Americans are to be free men or slaves!")
To: Main Street
SD U-T
10
posted on
03/22/2008 5:12:58 PM PDT
by
NormsRevenge
(Semper Fi ... Godspeed ... ICE’s toll-free tip hotline —1-866-DHS-2-ICE ... 9/11 .. Never FoRGeT)
To: Main Street
Fantastic pictures. So nice to see.
To: Main Street; Kitty Mittens; All
KITTY'S NEPHEW SAY'S WELCOME HOME AND GODSPEED!
12
posted on
03/22/2008 5:25:07 PM PDT
by
alpha-8-25-02
("SAVED BY GRACE AND GRACE ALONE")
To: Main Street
Wonderful news. Welcome home to man and dog!
13
posted on
03/22/2008 5:26:52 PM PDT
by
snippy_about_it
(The FReeper Foxhole. America's history, America's soul.)
To: Main Street
Did he do the proof of a dog’s love test? Put the dog and your wife in the trunk of your car for one hour. Then open it and see which one is the happiest to see you. LOL
14
posted on
03/22/2008 5:35:38 PM PDT
by
fish hawk
(The religion of Darwinism = Monkey Intellect)
15
posted on
03/22/2008 5:56:29 PM PDT
by
KavMan
To: Joan Kerrey
“...the devotion and bond that can form between a dog and man.”
It is a very special relationship. Those who don’t experience it are poorer for it.
To: ought-six
Get this man a girlfriend now.
He's back from two years in Iraq and he's playing suck-face with a dog.
It will consummate the whole journey, going from the sand of Iraq to the sand of San Diego.
Well, that's crazy talking right there.
17
posted on
03/22/2008 6:33:57 PM PDT
by
billorites
(Freepo ergo sum)
To: Main Street
Welcome home Marine!
18
posted on
03/22/2008 6:40:16 PM PDT
by
gorush
(Exterminate the Moops!)
To: Main Street
19
posted on
03/22/2008 7:13:21 PM PDT
by
RDTF
To: Main Street
Oh! I remember this story. I love Nubbs. Tears of joy.
20
posted on
03/22/2008 7:39:48 PM PDT
by
GVnana
("They're still analyzing the first guy. What do I have to worry about?" - GWB)
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