War Buddies: A Marine's Unlikely Bond with a Dedicated Iraqi Dog

When Maj. Brian Dennis led an 11-man U.S. Marine counterinsurgency force through Iraq, the last thing he thought he'd find was a friend. But one four-legged furball was just too determined to give up on companionship. Dennis met Nubs — a wild mixed-breed pup who earned his nickname due to his cruelly clipped ears — in October 2007. The two shared a plate of spaghetti and a tummy rub, and parted ways. But the persistent pup had other plans.

Over the next four months, the dog would surprise Dennis, 38, and his team by showing up each time they returned to their base. Though interacting with wild animals was prohibited by military rules, it was hard to resist the cute pooch. "There was something endearing about him," Dennis tells PEOPLE.

When Dennis and his patrol had to go 75 miles from their post — the farthest distance from Nubs since their first meeting — he figured the dog would retreat. But two days later, a Marine came to Dennis and said, "You'll never guess who's outside." It was Nubs, a little worse for wear, covered with bites and scars from fighting. "He had traveled some of the most nasty, inhospitable desert you can imagine," says Dennis. "I have no idea how he did it. I looked at him and thought, 'This little guy has earned a trip to America.' "

Thanks to donations from family and friends, Dennis raised the $5,000 needed to get the pup to his home in San Diego, Calif. A Jordanian interpreter helped get Nubs across the border, where the interpreter's brother could get him vaccinated. Then, in January 2008, Nubs boarded a plane in Amman, Jordan, bound for Chicago, where one of Dennis's officers had family. A month later, when his tour of duty finished, Dennis followed. "When Nubs saw me, he went crazy," says Dennis. "He was licking my face. It was fantastic."

Dennis documented the adventure in a children's book — one of the few Iraq war tales written for kids — called Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle. "There is a lesson there for kids," Dennis says. "If you do someone a 'solid,' you get a friend forever."

Read more about Nubs in the new issue of PEOPLE, on stands now.

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Kate Hogan with reporting by Champ Clark