Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle.

Dennis, Major Brian (author) and Kirby Larson (author) and others.

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Major Brian Dennis wasn’t looking for a pet. In fact, for marines serving in Iraq, such a thing was against orders. As it turned out, nothing—not rules, not distance, not war—was going to keep them apart. Kirby Larson and Mary Nethery, authors of the cat-and-dog Hurricane Katrina survival story Two Bobbies (2008), pair with Dennis on this hugely inspirational true account of “Nubs” (so named because his ears had been cut off by an unknown perpetrator) and his devotion to the American soldier who befriended him. At first, Dennis only rubbed the dog’s belly and shared some rations before embarking on a two-month mission. But when Dennis returned, so did a cold and injured Nubs. Dennis was able to clean the animal’s wounds, but two more missions meant more abandonment. That’s when the unbelievable occurred: through freezing temperatures the mutt limped for 70 miles until he found his friend. Simple dotted-line maps make Nubs’ various journeys palpable. The gritty, low-res shots of the two companions against the bleak Iraqi horizon are married with text so gracefully that many of the compositions could be book jackets. Dennis’ emails and various other official documents liven the layout, but the payoff is the grinning face on Nubs’ American passport. At long last, he was going home.