Stonehenge

This is in the news today, causing a stir amongst archeologists.


http://www.kansascity.com/2010/09/29/2262631/discovery-shows-stonehenge-was.html

What it means is that travelers went to Stonehenge from all over Europe, as long ago as 1,500 years B.C. (Actually, it was much longer, according to werelore.) That is long before the Romans or the Angles arrived, long before any peoples were thought to have been doing much seafaring and traveling to what is now Britain.

For perspective, at the same time the Mycenaeans were spreading over what is now Greece; in 1505 Hatshepsut became queen of Egypt; ca 1300 the Kingdom of Israel was established; we were in the midst of the Bronze Age.

Why would people travel form all over Europe to Stonehenge? Maybe archeologists will start finding answers for that. Bt is werelore holds any truth they might start finding some very surprising skeletons.

Pet Pharma

Another issue that is being hotly debated and worries many weredogs is this increasing trend of people drugging their dogs. It is done more and more with all pets. But dogs are the main recipients.

More and more weredogs are showing up at pack meetings loopier than a cooped up kitten. At first we did not know what was going on. We thought some were somehow getting into drugs. Well they were. Through their families, the people they trust.

I have been involved in 2 dog interventions. These are more difficult than those with people, for the simple fact that it is next to impossible to get the people on board.

The main reason people are more drugging their dogs is the desire to have their dogs act more like people, not like their natural temperament directs them.

This is another of those unfortunate and troubling outcomes of domestication and civilization.

An again, people are also doing the same thing to themselves.

Sled Dogs Recognized

Reading the paper today I came across this story:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/28/science/28polar.html?src=twr&scp=1&sq=amundsen&st=cse

This hit me like a .40 cal round, hard in the chest. I knew 2 dogs that were on these teams. He was on Scott's team. She was on Amundsen's. They were in love, not just lovers, for a long time. Since it was still rather taboo for weredogs to get so involved they kept it secret. More or less.

When Scott did not return she went a bit insane. It took her a year, but she went back, to find him. Her team was comprised of sled dogs, weredogs and werewolves. This was at a time when it was very taboo to mingle with werewolves. It was one of the first and earliest joint dog and wolf operations. No one knows how she talked them into it. The survivors never talked or shared any details. The rest of her team made it back, all of them, except for her. They say she is still down there, running around the arctic desert, howling, looking for him.

I knew them both.

I wonder if there are any weredogs on this Air Force colonels team. Someone needs to give him a big dog thank you.

Dog Diets and Domestication

I shifted and got into the fridge this morn. Gave Flecka some leftover beef. She needed it. And some milk. Just a bit. She is old and frail and getting weaker and needs more than the doggy chow we get.

One of my ancillary duties has always been, as a dog in modern society, to provide supplemental diet to dogs, and sometimes cats. Dogs and cats at one time were the top predators in most parts of this planet. One would not know that by how we are fed.

I have often heard dogs, and weredogs, bemoan the waste of roadkill. "If only I could get my teeth into some of that," I have heard so many times driving by a deer down by side of the road. It's already tenderized. Who gives a shit about a bit of road gravel?

Don't get me wrong. I love Kibbles and Bits. And Science Diet is, I admit, put together in a very nutritious way. But eating dry dog food day after day would be like a person eating only oatmeal boiled in beef broth day after day. Gets old.

Me, I get out now and then. But most dogs do not, unless they live with a person with a more crazy and non-mainstream attitude toward feeding his or her dog buds.

In spite of this, many dogs, and cats and even horses, have learned to become obese. These are other fruits of domestication. And I cannot believe the things that people eat, things with scent that I do not want even to be in the same room with.

There is a couple that lives two streets over who are avid runners. They are thin, too thin. But their dog and cat are obese, way obese. Both have guts that drag the floor. The people eat vicariously through their pets. What the hell's up with that?

This is all affecting people too, obesity and bad diet, or obsessively good diet. It ties in with lack of or no activity or diet.

We are predators, dogs, cats and humans. We were meant to stalk and hunt and move and shred and tear and eat. Our bodies are responding to domestication and civilization in ways not anticipated.

Bo and the Coyotes

The 2 coyotes led me to Bo. She was laying amongst some brush in a nearby field. She did get up as I approached. One of the coyotes who led me there made the introductions. He explained that Bo is the leader of their pack, a local and rather large pack, and elder leader for a large area, which included several other packs.

"So, this is what a weredog looks like in dog form," she said. I just snarled an acknowledgement. "Can I see you shift into a weredog?" she said. I said no, that was not possible just then.

"What do you want?" I said.

"We need to work with you," she said.

"About what?" I said.

"Neo's," she said. "And some other issues that are even more dangerous, to us as well as you."

We arranged a meeting. I will take several weredogs, and werewolves, with me. I do not entirely trust coyotes. They are they most devious of all canines.

"By the way," I said, "attacking the dachsund was just a ruse, right?"

"He was supposed to be my breakfast," said one of the 2 coyotes, disappointment heavy through his teeth. "If not for the girl I would now have a full belly."

I snarled. "Pay attention. If any harm comes to any of my house pack, cats, dogs, any species, I will take it very personal, and make it my personal vendetta to find him or her who is responsible. It would not bide well for our working together. I hope I make myself clear."

Bo snarled. "Fine," she said. "We know where you live, who you are, who are in that house." I nodded, then turned to go. "We do not like to be threatened," said Bo.

I turned back, said, "Good," then trotted off.

Coyotes, gotta admire their moxy. But don't dare turn your backs on them.

Follow-up: Rescue from the Old Lady

All the dogs were rescued and taken to foster homes or no-kill shelters. We slipped in and got most of them, late at night while the old lady was asleep. Took us an hour. Too long. The rest were rescued 2 days later by SPCA and animal control officers.

The old lady was take to a nursing home. It was quickly determined that she was not competent to care for herself, much less the small zoo of cats and dogs. She has no family left, no sons or daughters. Some nieces were tracked down. But none wanted to get involved. The county is no determining her fate. If she is lucky she will die before a decision is reached.

We feel OK about this because all those animals had to get out of that house. One of the dogs I carried out, because she could not walk, was a 4-year-old collie mix with the worst mange I have ever seen.

The old lady did not understand what she was doing, the misery in that house. She has slipped too much mentally. Dimentia, and insanity, such things weredogs do not quite grasp. Dogs do not understand it at all, except that when their people fall to it they change, to someone, or something else.

I feel sorry for that old lady. She has no one. No family. No pack. No connections. Maybe that is what drove her out of her mind. Loneliness can do that.

The new cat is harassing Bailey. Even Rooster does not know what to do with him. But Rooster and Bailey are old. Both are losing weight and slowing down. A year ago Rooster still would have put this young cat, Chase, in his place. Not now. Too tired.

Composting

This morning Sven threw an apple core out the back door. Jack said "What the hell was that?" Sven said, "Compost." That led to a big yelling match.

Sven was testing Jack. I could smell it on him. But I could have seen it. Jack did. It was obvious.

Teenagers are in many ways temporarily insane. They do things that boggles the mind. Even teen dogs, and cats, and I suppose teens of all species, act like numb-nuts and ding-a-lings. But this is natural. I have seen it many times.

Teens need to test their world, understand the rules and limitations, within their family and home, and in the broader world. It is so with people and with pandas, with all species. Well, maybe just mammalian species. I'm not sure. I am a bit biased toward mammals. We dogs tend to be that way.

The challenge for any parent is how to respond. Too little is bad. Too much is also bad. But where is the balance? It is different for every kid and every parent.

Dogs also have to learn and figure out how to play their teenagers, both pups and people. Think that's funny? Ever family dog learns his or her family and comes up with a strategy for each. This does not just include how to deal with teens. It also includes how to get handouts and scraps, how to get up on the bed, how to get walks, or get loose and run the hood, or what to do when left in the house too long and she or he cannot hold it. Nature calls. You can't always just not answer.

Bad Families

A dog in our pack is with a bad family. The father is a alcoholic and a bully. The mother is an alcoholic and zoned out. The kids are angry and out of control. All of them are abusive. Except for the youngest.

When a weredog finds him or herself with a bad family, one in which they are abused or in danger. they just disappear. Take off. Such families don't care. But there are cases wherein the weredog does not feel he or she can just leave. Usually this is due to another pet, or a child.

When another pet, especially a dog, in involved, also abused or in danger, the weredog will usually take off then return later for the other dog, or dogs.

A child is different. A dog cannot just take a child. That is a no-no. What the dog will usually do in that situation is gather a team of weredogs, do some surveillance and information gathering, then arrange for it to wind up in the hands of the cops, or whatever authorities will most likely act on it and rescue the child.

These cases are kind of rare. But not unheard of. But they have been on the rise over the past 2 decades. In the past 5 years I have been involved in 6 rescues. They are a lot of work. But I have never known of a dog to refuse to participate in such an effort.

This is the situation my pack-mate is in. She feels she cannot abandon the youngest child. There are other such situations, in other families in nearby neighborhoods. We hear about them from not only weredogs, but dogs, cats, even wild species. They are all unique, and a bit problematic, as these cases tend to be.

Caitlyn and Warin are Back

Warin and Caitlyn have returned. Warin said it will take several nights to tell all their tales.

Caitlyn looks different. She still looks, of course, like a girl, but now possess a certain knowing in her eyes. I cannot explain it. But I know the look.

They rolled into town 4 days ago. Warin called me. I went over to find 2 weredogs who look like the 2 I watched leave, but who now are very different. I am curious to hear their stories.

Bad Dads Are Good Dads

In today’s culture bad dads are good dads. This is really a return to traditional attitudes.

Women now earn more than men. Women are the bread-winners in a most families, according to recent polls. This is due to so many men being laid-off, unemployed, out of work. The result is in many families the dads are at home and the moms go to work.

This is proving a hard slog for many of these dads. I am hearing this from many dogs, in regards to their families. It is causing a lot of tension and upheaval in homes. Dads feel devalued, demasculinized. Wives are penalizing them by cutting them off from sex and from family finances. Affairs are on the rise, as men look elsewhere for pleasure and validation. But women are cheating more, as they search for their real men.

Dads are supposed to provide. Dads who provide more are better dads. So dads who are willing to do whatever it takes to provide more are better dads. Often these dads are absent dads. They are absent making money, to provide the big houses and nice cars and lots of electronics. They are absent doing things that are often immoral, such as lying and stealing and deceiving and breaking. But the ends justifies the means, and if that end means more money, then all is forgiven and they are good dads.

As I said, this is a return. For thousands of years men went out and hunted, often for months, and farmed and did those things they had to do to feed their family, pack or tribe.

But things are different today. The hunting ground has been replaced by the cubicle and PC. But there are a finite number of those, far fewer than just a few years ago. But expectations of men have not really changed. Bring home the big hunk of mastodon or you will be replaced by someone who can.

Those dads that are always there for their kids, are loving and nurturing and attentive, but cannot execute and close to provide the big money, and thus cannot provide, then they are bad dads.

This is of course a major issue now for Sherry and Jack. And I don't know how to help them. I struggle with that, as do many other weredogs, with their families.

I am not sure what this means for dogs. If a man has good scent, or gives us leftovers, we tend to like him, regardless of how much the guy has in his bank account. I have a sizable portfolio and assets. Although, it has been accruing for a very long time. But I do not even consider all that in defining myself as a dog, a man, or a were. There are too many other things to consider.

Early Morning Rush

At about 0612 this morning I heard terrified barking and a woman or girl scream in terror. Before I could get a bark going Jack came busting out of the bathroom, yelling, "Chester! Let's go!"

This is not uncommon. During the warm months, especially in the spring and fall, Jack and I will respond to cat screams several time a month. Always in the middle of the night. Usually it is some tom cat threatening or messing with one of our cats. Once it was an enormous owl.

When we bolt to the rescue we just get downstairs and outside as fast as we can. Jack once did so naked. I have never had that problem. Bella used to be part of our IRF (Instantaneous Reaction Force) when she was alive.

This morning was different. The barks and screams were not from cats and not from our yard. Jack went out the front door. I was right behind him, barking like a mad dog. Jack was wearing only terry cloth pajama bottoms. No shoes or shirt.

We followed the ruckus to the east side of the house, to a neighbor's. There in the front yard was a girl and a dachshund being snarled at by 2 coyotes. It knew them before I saw them. I smelled them a few feet out the front door. they were large for coyotes.

As you know, I have a fondness for coyotes. But I do not have a fondness for them snacking on dachshunds. Jack was bellowing like a grizzly. I was barking like a hell hound. He was waving his arms. My hackles were up like knives. We charged the coyotes like this. They, of course, bolted. Jack said, "Get 'em, Chester!" I gave chase.

My intention was to run them off, to instill in them the lesson never to return to our neighborhood. I did not want to hurt them. But coyotes can be dangerous, and are famous for being wily. So when I chased them down into the field nearby and they turned and faced me, I thought, "Uh oh."

Worst case was I would get some new bites and scars. But I have so many new ones of late that this did not sound fun. So I was putting on the breaks thinking about defensive tactics when one of them said, "Good. Now that you are here follow us." That I was not expecting. They trotted off. The second one glanced back and said, "Come one. Bo is waiting."

So I went to meet and talk to Bo. Definitely not expected. More on Bo later.

I ran back home. Jack was trying to get the boys, Sven and Rick, up. In true teen tradition, they do not like to get up. Jack was still wearing only the light weight pajama bottoms. One sniff told me he had been on the toilet when we heard the screams, and had not stopped to wipe. No one else but me smelled that. But I am sure Jack felt it.

Hell of a way to start the day. Hope that girl is not too traumatized, either from her encounter with the coyotes, or from her encounter with us, Jack half naked, and me looking and acting like something from a SciFi Channel demon movie.

Everyone cleared out of here early and fast this morning. I am going to whip up something yummy for Flecka and I. And maybe the cats. Rooster needs to protein. He is getting too skinny. And there are lots of leftovers in the fridge that need clearing. The way Sven has been eating, no one will notice or question.

Evolution

I saw a guy on TV the other night make a passionate claim that evolution will carry mankind to eventual perfection. He claimed that gays and Muslims and liberals and feminists and fans of reality TV would all fall by the wayside because they do not fit i with the plan for what evolution has for mankind. I watched it as long as I could. But had t turn it off before he concluded his confusing diatribe.

Many people, and dogs, seem to get so caught up in their biases and agendas that they cannot see clearly. That this guy was talking about evolution as if it is some kind of god was hysterical to me. I am sure it wasn't to everyone watching.

Evolution grinds toward equilibrium. It doesn’t care how things turn out, which species survive and which perish. It can even seem to slow and grind to a halt, until something gives it a jolt, or a slap in the face. Then evolution leaps forward again, to adapt to the slap, the new variables, in order to survive.

Is that now? Are we at such a crossroads? Are the neos the next leap, or the current slap? Could there be any other slaps lurking out there that we don't yet know about?

Story

I am in tonight. All night. No patrols or meetings. Got a lot to catch up on, personal biz and pack matters.

At a recent pack meeting there was a bit of a stir when I dog tried to relate a story she heard from another pack. It was supposed to be funny. She almost nailed it. But not quite. She was given lots of claps and licks for her attempt.

Weres love movies and books, good stories of any medium. But we cannot create them or tell them. It is not in us. Many times I have watched weredogs and werewolves try to tell a story. It is even funnier to watch a were try to make up a story.

Some say it was story that saved mankind, allowed him to so rapidly develop, and prevail over all other species and predators. Stories allowed man to pass on knowledge and skills in a context that everyone could grasp. Story was the shot of adrenaline into mankind’s cognitive abilities. Learning the stories of other species drove mankind to dominance. Telling and hearing stories developed the human mastery of language and analysis.

Stories have carried all the great truths and traditions of mankind, all religions and cultures, every political ideology and empire. Each country and company has its own story, each product, each person.

The Bible seems to me a compelling collection of stories, as do all the other texts and books of all the other religions.

No other species gets story like humans. Even we weres do not fully understand it. We love story, and stories. Most weredogs read a lot, novels especially. But few weredogs can truly understand Don Delilo or James Joyce. Weredogs cannot write even bad stories. What I would give to write even a bad but coherent story.

Some truths are too big. Science cannot contain or convey them. Facts cannot carry them. They need metaphor and images to even begin to get at them. For those truths story is the only possibility understand and tell them.

A good story is a powerful tool. Many weres believe if we could learn to create and tell solid stories then we would finally be on par with mankind. I am not certain it is that simple.

Jack tells great stories, especially around camp fires and over beers. Sven and Rick tell good stories, and have written some real good stories in school, for classes. Story must run in the blood. Makes sense, since a good story makes the blood run.

Strays

There is a stray weredog in our AO. Strays are uncommon. But it does occur.

I have been trying to find and connect with him. My goal is to get him into our pack. I found him in a dark bar a couple nights ago. He was drunk. Drinking is bad idea for weres. Getting drunk is a terrible idea. He snarled at me as soon as I sat on the stool next to him.

"Go away," he said.

I managed not to get bit and got him talking. He has spent too long in human form. He got too caught up on this current war. War is the most common cause for dogs doing this, staying to long in one for or the other. I don't even know how many times he has been over in Iraq and Stan. Too many. He has been in human for over 15 years. Way too long.

Strays are everywhere. Stray dogs. Stray humans. It is never good, for them or for anyone. Everyone needs a pack, a family, community, connection. Canines and humans are social animals. Our survival hinged on our social tendencies.

Strays scare most people and dogs. Strays are seen as wild, detached, unhinged, crazy, dangerous...disconnected. But the history of philosophy and art is filled with strays...disconnection.

Life is about connection. All living things strive for connection. Humans beings have an incredible capacity for connection. It is possibly their most powerful trait. The need or connection fuels love and empathy. Many weres say this capacity is balanced against capacities for violence and hatred and fear.

I am trying to get this dog into our pack. All dogs, and wolves, need a pack. I check in on him from time to time, talk, listen, shares stories, bourbon, meat. One of the taboos of lone weredogs is the myth that stray dogs eventually become lone wolves. Some say that is not the case, that there simply is no difference between the perro solo and the lobo solo.

I would not even care about that. This dog just needs a pack. Connection is the key to survival. I am heading out again to night, to find and talk to him, and a few other errands I have to see to.

I am ready to go, but Sven is still awake upstairs, on his phone and computer. His lights are supposed to be out at 10:00PM. Everyone else is awake. If he does not knock off for the night I will have to figure out some way to covertly awaken Jack and sick him on Sven.

MoH for SF SSG

A staff sergeant of the 3rd Special Forces Group is being awarded the Medal of Honor. Posthumously. He was killed in action in January of 2008.

http://www.stripes.com/news/fallen-soldier-to-become-third-medal-of-honor-recipient-in-afghan-war-1.117660

This is only the 3rd MoH awarded in this current war. Some feel that is not enough, far too few.

Glad to see this is being awarded. Sorry to see this young SSG had to die to get it. Part of me feels a need to be over there. Part of me says "To hell with that. Been there, done that."

Oh well. Not my war. Sitting this one out. But I will be back in it, eventually. I always am, sooner or later.

Weregirls

I met a guy recently who is raising 5 weregirls. This is remarkable since he is not a were, dog or wolf.

They live in a suburb here in the KC metro area. Can't say where anymore than I can give names.

The girls are werewolves. He adopted them as very small pups. I don't know the story of how that happened. But they are living in suburbia, going to school, living basically as weredogs, more as girls, actually.

This is problematic for various reasons.

He is former SF, so we have a bond.

Trying to keep tabs on them, to be there if need be.

I am keeping way too many tabs. Thank dog for other weredogs.

Were T-shirt

A were sent me a link to this t-shirt.

I like it. The dimensions are not right, of course. Weres, dogs and wolves, are much larger in wereform. But the artist of this shirt had to do it this way for effect, pyramid up, to man, and then back down, to wolf. Or dog. It could be either.






This shirt is on CafePress: http://www.cafepress.com/+werewolf_evolution_tshirt,410743585

Old Lady Pet Hoarder

One of the topics being discussed a lot at pack meetings recently is a local old lady who is hoarding pets. She has many cats and dogs in her house, way too many than she can care for. They are all living in misery. Many are dying from starvation and neglect.

Some in the pack claim we must do something. The humans do not know of this situation, so will not do anything, so it falls to us. Others claim the traditional, “Not our responsibility.”

She is not a bad lady. She is just old and senile and an alcoholic and alone. In her mind she is saving all her “babies.” Holly says she has dementia, addiction, OCD and attachment disorder.

“She has a messiah complex,” yelled out Duke, a newbie to the pack. He just recently shifted to dog phase, moved here from Tacoma and is living with a family in Smithville. He says she thinks of herself as a savior and the more animals she saves, takes into her private hell, the more she stokes that delusion.

It was decided that we would pass a tip to the local SPCA and if they did not move quickly on that information then we will make a move, get the animals out of there. In that case hopefully we can get some people involved. You have not seen pandemonium until you have seen a bunch of weredogs trying to rescue a bunch of traumatized cats. Dog give me strength, I really don't want to go there.

Issues of Concern for Weres

In various and numerous meetings, all over the country and the world, these are the current major topics of concern for werefolk, in general.

1) Climate is something that worries weres. It mystifies us that so many people think that man cannot affect the planet or change it, or that scientists will find ways to fix everything. Really? Water is another big worry. Werescientists worry more about water than oil.

2) Religion - Weres have never really understood religion. We understand it in concept, the need to believe in something bigger than ourselves, something beyond the physical, beyond death. But how people articulate and argue over and within it is a mystery to us.

We understand that there is good and bad religion. We see the value and danger of religion. Religion can be liberating, positive and tolerant. It can also be focused on violence, dogma and obedience. We don’t understand how anyone could belong to a religion that strives to dominate or convert or destroy another. We don’t understand how so many evil things have been done, and are done, in the name of religion. We don’t understand how so many people can cleave to religious beliefs that contradict facts and self-interest. We think more humans ought to try howling at the moon.

3) Education - Ignorance is not bliss. Humans taught us that. Education is always good. Those who oppose education can only be interested in tyranny. And public education is a cornerstone of democracy. Religious schools are a cornerstone of theocracy. Example: the Taliban madrasses. Religious schools are interested in promoting dogma and obedience, not knowledge and truth. I don't know of any exceptins.

4) Migration - Can’t be stopped. Life migrates. It moves. The history of the human race, of every race, of every species, is one of migration. Cross pollination, genetic and cultural, is essential to every species, including humans.

5) The Brain and Soul - No one really understands the brain or the soul yet, not man or were. Thus no one can foresee their potentials. There are some who talk about harnessing the brain. For what? For whom? How? Would this involved releasing it or enslaving it? Technology is always a double-edged sword. I know. I have watched many technologies cut both ways in my more than 250 year life span.

6) Liberty - individual liberty is at risk in every corner of the world now, for every species. So is survival. More human government is unavoidable. Anyone who talks about smaller government is either naive or lying. Conservatives or liberals, makes no difference. Human overpopulation, dwindling resources, such as oil and even water, crime, terror, war, desensitization to violence, all of it is pushing governments toward greater need for control - surveillance, protection, from others and selves, policing, safety, defense, control, hierarchy, tyranny. Weres and dogs are nervous about what this will mean for us.

7) Technology - is both liberating and enslaving humans. And dogs. It is having profound affects on brains, were and human alike. It, technology, plays a central role in surveillance and tyranny. Advances in weapons, CBI (computer-brain-interface), cloning, genetic engineering, nanotechnology, AI (artificial intelligence), and many other technologies are influencing human evolution, and the evolution of other species. It is a likely key in the speciation and threat of the neo’s.

8) Manipulation of the Minute - Mankind is tinkering more and more with genes and molecules and atoms and electrons and cloning and aminos and cells, in order to make weapons, profits and happier, more perfect humans. There are always unintended results. There will be with these efforts also. Weres are nervous.

9) Over and Under Population - Human overpopulation is driving down populations of most other species, with the exception of dogs, cats, and cows. Maybe some other domesticated species, like horses. But the obvious logic that troubles many weredogs and werewolves is that if this trend continues, if human population continues at the rate it is on track now, then resources will become more and more scarce. It will become harder and harder to feed everyone. There will not be enough cows and pigs. Now I love bacon. But the more troubling outcome is that inevitably dogs and cats will be on the menu. After that there is only one last option for humans to feed themselves.

The Message, and Changes

This Varans told me that as recently as a couple years ago they would have killed me. But there are too many changes now, they said. Too many threats. Dogs are scared.

Weredogs are confused, scared, even split, on many changes in the world of man today. It will take another message to list all the issues and changes that concern weresfolk.

So the Varans told me that I must keep up this blog, keep coordinating with werewolves, keep investigating and learning the neos, and keep killing them.

So many changes. So many decisions. So many dangers. So many damn meetings to try and discuss them all.