Nubbin, the Jack Russell terrier whose owner, Jessie Brothers, died last week, has a new home.

Brothers' friend Betty Hoopes said the little dog was to go home Tuesday afternoon with his new owners, a couple from Lexington.

"Nubbin will have a wonderful, wonderful home; he won the lottery when he got this special family," Hoopes said. "He loved them when we introduced them to him on Monday."

Nubbin's new owners have asked not to be identified, Hoopes said.

She said they previously owned another Jack Russell terrier, have other dogs now and previously have fostered dogs. They also have a fenced-in backyard where Nubbin can run and play, she said.

Hoopes, and others who had befriended Brothers over the past two years, worked out the dog's adoption through the Lexington Humane Society after Brothers' three children gave the go-ahead after his death Sept. 1.

Meanwhile, Hoopes said a memorial service for Brothers is being planned, and details should be ready soon.

The story of Brothers and Nubbin touched many people, beginning in late 2012 when the dog suffered a severely broken leg. Brothers, a retired laborer, had no money for the surgery Nubbin needed and he went into an emotional collapse at the possibility of losing his dog.

Two Lexington firefighters put up money for the surgery, and a news story about the case prompted many people to come forward with donations of money and other help for Nubbin and Brothers.

One of the firefighters, Anthony Johnson, along with Hoopes and Linda Copeland of Lexington, became the nucleus of a group of people who spent the next two years looking after Brothers and Nubbin.

Thanks to that help, Nubbin survived his injury and Brothers eventually was able to move into a small Habitat For Humanity House in Lexington. It was their home until Brothers died.

Last week, Lexington's Locust Trace AgriScience Farm offered to adopt Nubbin, and make him the school's mascot. Nubbin's first leg surgery was done at the farm's veterinary clinic.

Hoopes called Locust Trace "a wonderful place." But she said Tuesday that she, Copeland and Johnson ultimately thought Nubbin would be more comfortable in a single-family home, rather than a group environment with various people taking care of him.

"I felt strongly for Locust Trace, but I think we've made the right decision," Hoopes said.