When Maj. Brian Dennis of the United States Marine Corps met a wild stray dog with shorn ears while serving in Iraq, he had no idea of the bond they would form, leading to seismic changes in both their lives. "The general theme of the story of Nubs is that if you're kind to someone, they'll never forget you -- whether it be person or animal," Dennis tells Paw Nation.

In October 2007, Dennis and his team of 11 men were in Iraq patrolling the Syrian border. One day, as his team arrived at a border fort, they encountered a pack of stray dogs -- not uncommon in the barren, rocky desert that was home to wolves and wild dogs.

"We all got out of the Humvee and I started working when this dog came running up," recalls Dennis. "I said, 'Hey buddy' and bent down to pet him." Dennis noticed the dog's ears had been cut. "I said, 'You got little nubs for ears.'" The name stuck. The dog whose ears had been shorn off as a puppy by an Iraqi soldier (to make the dog "look tougher," Dennis says) became known as Nubs.

Dennis fed Nubs scraps from his field rations, including bits of ham and frosted strawberry Pop Tarts. "I didn't think he'd eat the Pop Tart, but he did," says Dennis.

At night, Nubs accompanied the men on night patrols. "I'd get up in the middle of the night to walk the perimeter with my weapon and Nubs would get up and walk next to me like he was doing guard duty," says Dennis.

The next day, Dennis said goodbye to Nubs, but he didn't forget about the dog. He began mentioning Nubs in emails he wrote to friends and family back home. "I found a dog in the desert," Dennis wrote in an email in October 2007. "I call him Nubs. We clicked right away. He flips on his back and makes me rub his stomach."

"Every couple of weeks, we'd go back to the border fort and I'd see Nubs every time," says Dennis. "Each time, he followed us around a little more." And every time the men rumbled away in their Humvees, Nubs would run after them. "We're going forty miles an hour and he'd be right next to the Humvee," says Dennis. "He's a crazy fast dog. Eventually, he'd wear out, fall behind and disappear in the dust."

On one trip to the border fort in December 2007, Dennis found Nubs was badly wounded in his left side where he'd been stabbed with a screwdriver. "The wound was infected and full of pus," Dennis recalls. "We pulled out our battle kits and poured antiseptic on his wound and force fed him some antibiotics wrapped in peanut butter." That night, Nubs was in so much pain that he refused food and water and slept standing up because he couldn't lay down. Dennis and his team left again the next day, but Dennis thought about Nubs the entire time, hoping the dog was still alive.

Two weeks later, when Dennis and his team returned, he found Nubs alive and well. "I had patched him up and that seemed to be a turning point in how he viewed me," says Dennis. This time, when Dennis and his team left the fort, Nubs followed. Though the dog lost sight of the Humvees, he never gave up. For two days, Nubs endured freezing temperatures and packs of wild dogs and wolves, eventually finding his way to Dennis at a camp an incredible 70 miles south near the Jordanian border.

"There he was, all beaten and chewed up," says Dennis. "I knew immediately that Nubs had crossed through several dog territories and fought and ran, and fought and ran," says Dennis. The dog jumped on Dennis, licking his face.

Most of the 80 men at the camp welcomed Nubs, even building him a doghouse. But a couple of soldiers complained, leading Dennis' superiors to order him to get rid of the dog. With his hand forced, Dennis decided that the only thing to do was bring Nubs to America. He began coordinating Nubs' rescue effort. Friends and family in the States helped, raising the $5,000 it would cost to transport Nubs overseas.

Finally, it was all arranged. Nubs was handed over to volunteers in Jordan, who looked after the dog and sent him onto to Chicago, then San Diego, where Dennis' friends waited to pick him up. Nubs lived with Dennis' friends and began getting trained by local dog trainer Graham Bloem of the Snug Pet Resort. "I focused on basic obedience and socializing him with dogs, people and the environment," says Bloem.

A month later, Dennis finished his deployment in Iraq and returned home to San Diego, where he immediately boarded a bus to Camp Pendleton to be reunited with Nubs. "I was worried he wouldn't remember me," says Dennis. But he needn't have worried. "Nubs went crazy," recalls Dennis. "He was jumping up on me, licking my head."

Dennis' experience with Nubs led to a children's picture book, called "Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle," published by Little, Brown for Young Readers. They have appeared on the Today Show and will be appearing on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien on Monday.

Dear Animal Lover,

After hearing from countless concerned consumers about the cruelty inherent in glue traps, home improvement retailer Lowe's, rather than pull the traps from its stores, chose instead to stock a glue trap that misled consumers by touting the fact that they contain eugenol, an anesthetic derived from clove oil.

Lowe's and the glue traps' manufacturer implied that this reduced animals' suffering—but it doesn't. And Lowe's knew that. Now the company that makes the glue trap has been forced to change its packaging.

Last year, PETA filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against Motomco, the glue traps' manufacturer. PETA pointed out that the labeling was misleading to consumers because eugenol would not result in any pain relief because of the way in which animals come into contact with the substance when caught in a glue trap.

In response to the FTC complaint submitted by PETA, Motomco has changed the wording on the glue traps' packaging so that it will no longer mislead consumers into thinking that the eugenol contained in the traps lessens the suffering of trapped animals.

Glue traps remain among the cruelest pest-control devices on the market today, but despite this victory, Lowe's continues to sell them. We appreciate your taking the time to write to Lowe's; now please take a moment to call Lowe's at 1-800-445-6937 and ask that it stop selling glue traps.

Thank you for speaking up for animals.

Sincerely, 

From Puppy-Mill Victim to Beloved Role Model

Dare, a 3-year-old sheltie, is the ultimate survivor.

This brave little dog was born in a puppy mill, where his back left leg was bitten off when he was just a few days old. Sadly, such injuries sometimes occur in mills -- the result of “cage crazy” behavior that dogs may exhibit in stressful, neglectful conditions.

Next, Dare’s front left leg got caught in cage wiring, dislocating the elbow and breaking in so many places it could not be repaired.

He received no medical treatment for either of these devastating injuries. Instead, Dare lived in severe pain until he was 9 weeks old, when the puppy mill owners decided he was too “damaged” to sell and gave him to a rescue group. The mill was later shut down by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Tragically, Dare ended up losing both a front and a back leg on the same side of his body. But his luck was finally about to change.

Adoptive caregiver Tami Skinner entered Dare’s life, giving him a new home -- and new hope. The two soon forged a powerful partnership.

At last, here was someone to give Dare the unconditional love he had been craving. Someone to treat him like a normal dog, encouraging him to walk and run on his own. Someone to recognize that Dare’s refusal to give in is what makes him special, not his disability.

Today, Dare and Tami impart their message of healing and fortitude to others with disabilities. They are among the highly trained participants in American Humane’s Animal-Assisted Therapy Program.

In this vital role, the team regularly conducts animal-assisted therapy visits at a facility for adults with disabilities, an amputee support group and a school for children with disabilities.

Dare is in his element as a therapy dog. He loves being the center of attention, and those he meets are amazed by his courage and zest for life.

According to a teacher at the school that Dare visits, “It is interesting that most of our students with special needs immediately accepted Dare as he was, just as he immediately accepted them…He reminds me that I need to let our students realize as much of their potential as possible, not [limit] them by standard expectations.”

The children are equally enthusiastic. “He’s just like me!” a child with a disability exclaimed with delight during one of Dare’s recent visits. It was one of many remarkable moments inspired by a truly remarkable dog.

Please help American Humane continue to make such moments possible by donating to our Animal-Assisted Therapy Program today!  

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Enrich Your Life in a Million Different Ways

Studies show that having a cat can lower your blood pressure, help prevent heart disease and beat depression. And those are just the health benefits. Cats also provide companionship, entertainment, affection and comfort -- the list goes on. In fact, there are a million reasons to adopt a cat and add a new member to your family.

And now’s the perfect time -- June is American Humane’s Adopt-A-Cat Month®, proudly sponsored by 9Lives® Cat Food.

American Humane celebrates this special month every year, right as the summer kicks off and our nation’s shelters experience a surge of cats and kittens showing up at their doors. To save a life -- and enrich your own -- American Humane encourages you to consider adopting a cat from your local shelter or breed rescue group.