LA JOLLA -- Four years ago, he brought smiles to the faces of Marines in Fallujah.

Wednesday, the dog named Lava helped bring home a La Jolla family's stolen van.

The husky-shepherd mix alerted his owner, retired Marine Lt. Colonel Jay Kopelman, about 2:45 a.m. that something was wrong at the family's Gravilla Place home, according to a San Diego police news release.

Kopelman, who helped bring the dog to San Diego from Iraq in 2005, searched the home's perimeter and found two men breaking into his wife's van. The Iraq war veteran then jumped in his own car and pursued the suspects, calling 911 along the way.

The police dispatcher kept Kopelman on the line and relayed the location of the stolen car to patrol officers.

With Kopelman's help, officers found the car and arrested the two men at 800 Saphire St.

Joseph Anthony Verdugo, 29, and Leonard Eric Williams, 40, were arrested and booked into San Diego Central Jail on burglary charges, police said.

Police urge crime victims to call 911 during a crime, and not to try to take suspects into custody on their own.

Lava was named after the Marines from Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines, from Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, otherwise known as the Lava Dogs.

They found the then-6-week-old puppy in an abandoned house they were using as a temporary base camp.

Kopelman eventually became the dog's keeper in Iraq and helped send him to a Rancho Santa Fe animal shelter.

The two were reunited in April 2005, and have lived together since.

Kopelman wrote a book based on his experiences with the dog, titled "From Baghdad with Love: A Marine, the War and Dog Named Lava."

Contact staff writer Chris Nichols at (760) 740-5426 or cnichols@nctimes.com