A Marine with Iowa ties is getting national attention for a children's book he just wrote. Major Brian Dennis is a 1989 West Des Moines Valley graduate whose father still lives in the metro. He was recently featured in People Magazine and appeared on The Tonight Show to share his amazing story about a dog he met during his second deployment to Iraq. The dog is the inspiration behind his book called, "Nubs: The True Story of a Marine, a Mutt and a Miracle."
It's easy to see why the events described in the book have landed Dennis in the spotlight. The story begins in the Iraq desert in 2007 where Dennis was leading a group of men on a border security mission. That's when he encountered a pack of stray dogs.
One of them stood out because his ears were cut off. After a few weeks, Dennis bonded with the dog and called him Nubs. But a few weeks later, the group had to travel 70 miles to the Syrian border and they couldn't take Nubs.
Major Dennis figured he would never see Nubs again. He was wrong. Somehow, Nubs found the men and showed up one especially cold, snowy day. At that point, Dennis knew he had to do something to try to keep Nubs around. That's when he sent out an e-mail to friends and family asking for donations so he could fly Nubs to San Diego where Dennis was stationed. A few weeks later Nubs was in the U.S. and now loves his new life.
Major Dennis decided to write the children's book after a lot of encouragement from friends and family. It is now for sale at books stores and amazon.com.
It's easy to see why the events described in the book have landed Dennis in the spotlight. The story begins in the Iraq desert in 2007 where Dennis was leading a group of men on a border security mission. That's when he encountered a pack of stray dogs.
One of them stood out because his ears were cut off. After a few weeks, Dennis bonded with the dog and called him Nubs. But a few weeks later, the group had to travel 70 miles to the Syrian border and they couldn't take Nubs.
Major Dennis figured he would never see Nubs again. He was wrong. Somehow, Nubs found the men and showed up one especially cold, snowy day. At that point, Dennis knew he had to do something to try to keep Nubs around. That's when he sent out an e-mail to friends and family asking for donations so he could fly Nubs to San Diego where Dennis was stationed. A few weeks later Nubs was in the U.S. and now loves his new life.
Major Dennis decided to write the children's book after a lot of encouragement from friends and family. It is now for sale at books stores and amazon.com.
