This Sand Isn’t Like Iraq: Nubs Hits Beach

By: NEIL JOHNSON
Media General News Service
Published: April 25, 2008

Nubs, the dog rescued from the Iraqi desert by Marine Maj. Brian Dennis and brought to the United States, got his first exposure to a Florida beach Thursday.

Nubs, a German shepherd and border collie mix, likely would give his visit to Fort DeSoto State Park a mixed review.

“He was kind of tentative,” said Marsha Cargo, Dennis’ mother.

Nubs is used to places with lots of sand, but not water.

Nubs didn’t take well to other dogs at a dog park at Fort DeSoto, Cargo said.

“It didn’t go so well.”

In the desert, where Nubs was part of a wild pack, any new dog was a potential threat.

They picked another beach location, but Nubs was wary of the waves, so they tried a more sheltered spot with calm water.

That worked better, Cargo said. Nubs waded out about ankle deep and stayed in the water about five minutes.

“Of course, he tried to drink it and found out it was salty,” Cargo said.

Nubs now can compare beaches, Gulf of Mexico versus Southern California. Dennis is stationed in San Diego.

The duo arrived in St. Petersburg on Wednesday.

Dennis said he brought Nubs to St. Petersburg, where he grew up, to let Nubs meet some of the people who helped get the dog to this country.

Dennis also launched a Web site Thursday to tell the story of Nubs and his improbable rescue from Iraq. It can be found at http://www.brianandnubs.com.

Dennis and his Marine Corps unit were near the Syrian border when he found Nubs in the ruins of a fort.

An Iraqi had clipped the dog’s ears, which led to the name.

Dennis said he met the soldier who cut the dog’s ears and asked him why.

“He said to make him tough,” Dennis said.

Later, an Iraqi border police officer stabbed the dog in the side with a screwdriver and left Nubs to die.

Dennis and the other troops in his unit intervened.

In the weeks and months that followed, the dog was nursed back to health and then reluctantly left behind only to catch up with his rescuers after a two-day trek over frozen terrain.

“I have no idea how,” Dennis said.

But they couldn’t keep him in a war zone.

“I thought, ‘How do I get a dog from Iraq to America?’”

One e-mail set off a chain reaction of support. Dennis returned to more than 250 e-mails offering help and raised $3,500 to get Nubs from Iraq to the United States via Jordan.

The unit took Nubs to the family of a translator, meeting in a “no man’s land” at the Jordanian border.

The Jordanians charged him $1,200 for a dog kennel.

“It was worth it,” Dennis said.

Reporter Neil Johnson can be reached at (813) 259-7133 or njohnson

“Of course he tried to drink it and found out it was salty.”

MARSHA CARGO Maj. Dennis’ mother, about Nubs’ visit to the Gulf on Thursday

NEIL JOHNSON is a staff writer for The Tampa Tribune