15 November 2009

Winning hearts and minds...even canine ones

Thanks to the Swiss UN worker/pilot extrordinaire Claudia-Tatjana (who runs the blog Global Philanthropy), I came across this story regarding US Marine Corps Major Brian Dennis and his dog, Nubs. Major Dennis, a fighter pilot by training, came across Nubs, an abused dog, when he was serving in Anbar province in western Iraq. Major Dennis interacted with Nubs throughout the course of numerous patrols through the local town--which, incidentally, highlights the value of the routine foot patrols through the villages...you get very familiar with all the locals. A turning point in the relationship occurred when Major Dennis gave first aid to Nubs, who had been injured by one of the local Iraqis. One day, as Major Dennis was driving away in his HMMWV column, Nubs tracked the convoy some seventy miles to their combat outpost.

With the help of a charity organization, Nubs was transported through the country of Jordan back to the United States, where he was reunited with Major Dennis upon his return to Camp Pendleton, near San Diego.

Major Dennis, in conjunction with two other writers, composed a children's' book about Nubs' journey, entitled "Nubs: A Marine, a Mutt and a Miracle", which I'd highly recommend checking out this holiday season.


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