The Marines Moved 70 Miles Across the Desert. Two Days Later, a Dog With No Ears Walked Into Their Camp

Major Brian Dennis was a Marine fighter pilot. In 2007, on his second tour in Iraq, he was not flying. He was on the ground, with a small team working out of rough forts near the border with Syria.

A pack of wild dogs lived around one of the forts. One of them was clearly the boss.

He was a big, wiry German shepherd mix. Somebody had cut off his ears when he was a puppy, leaving only two little stumps. Brian named him Nubs.

At first, Nubs would not give the Marine the time of day. But Brian kept coming back, visit after visit. Over a period of months, the tough dog started to come closer. Then he started to wait for the Marines.

On one visit, Brian saw that Nubs had been badly hurt. Someone had stabbed him in the side with a screwdriver. Brian cleaned the wound and cared for him, and Nubs let him do it.

After that, Nubs was his dog. Or maybe Brian was his human.

Then the orders came. Brian’s team was moving to a new base, about 70 miles away. There was no way to bring a dog. Brian said goodbye, climbed into his vehicle, and they drove off.

Nubs sprinted alongside the Humvees as they pulled away, like he always did. Brian thought it was the last time he would ever see him.

Two days later, a dog wandered into the Marines’ new camp.

It was Nubs.

He had crossed about 70 miles of desert, alone, in below-freezing weather, past packs of wild dogs and wolves, and somehow found them. “When he arrived he looked like he’d just been through a war zone,” Brian wrote home. “Uh, wait a minute, he had.”

The Marines were amazed. They all agreed: Nubs was staying. They built him a doghouse. But rules are rules. Dogs were not allowed, and before long two military police officers told Brian that Nubs could not stay.

Brian knew what that would mean.

So he made a decision. If Nubs could not stay in Iraq, he would go to America.

With help from friends and family back home, Brian worked out a plan. Nubs was taken out of Iraq to Jordan, and from there he flew all the way to the United States.

On February 20, 2008, Nubs landed in Chicago. Waiting for him: a steak dinner and some strawberry Pop-Tarts. Then he went on to San Diego, where he waited for Brian to come home.

A few weeks later, the major and the dog with no ears were together again. This time for good.

Their story was later told in the book Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle, which reached readers all over the world.

Semper Fidelis means “always faithful.” Nubs never needed to be told.

Would you have broken the rules to save Nubs? Tell us in the comments.