Weredogs In Pineland: short story collection

Many of this guy's stories are about weredogs and/or werewolves.

E-book: Green Berets and Weredogs in Pineland

8 stories in this collection, 4 are about werefolk or have werefolk characters. 4 are about Special Forces or have SF characters in them. One takes a very different look at the story of Noah's Ark and another offers creative ways to deal with poachers and save endangered species. It is less than 150 pages and costs $2.99.

This is for Kindle. If you do not have a Kindle you can get a FREE Kindle reader for any device of operating system, here:
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Not sure of this guy is a weredog. He might just know some weredogs.

Klaus and Agatha

Klaus is having a harder time with Agatha. She is the old widow with whom he lives and who he is trying to shield from her own loneliness and dementia. He has not been to a pack meeting in several months and has not been out on patrol in weeks. Such is his growing load of caring for Agatha.

Part of his challenge and risk now is that he has to shift back and forth, between dog and man, to fit Agatha's needs. He gave up trying not to let her see. She was upset and scared when at first she saw him shift, and tried to tell her niece, who of course paid her no mind, figured it was another of her ramblings. Agatha has since grown used to Klaus's changing of forms.

Agatha's few family do not visit often. But when they do they come by unannounced. Which makes for some dicey situations. They know that Agatha has a dog, but explaining a middled aged man would be problematic.

Our pack has created a schedule so that each of us helps out Klaus. But some are starting to snarl about it being time for her to go into a home. Klaus says he cannot bear that, that she will die if she goes into a home, and he will no be able to visit her there, most likely, given that he is not family.

Handshake's Demise

The handshake has always seemed to me a strange custom. Sniffing someone, their face or ass, is such a better way of saying "Hello."

The demise of the handshake, however, will not be a good thing for humans. I think it is odd that I have never seen that commented on.

The genesis of the handshake goes back 1,000s of years, to a time before cities, even before villages, when a man raising an open hand toward another was tantamount to saying, "I am unarmed. Don't mean trouble." Eventually that changed to clasping hands, an even more solid assurance that the other guy has nothing in his hand, weapon or otherwise.

The handshake change a little over the centuries and eons. Variations have made their way into various cultures, such as the "High Five" and all sorts of handshake choreogrphies that involved elaborate twists and slaps and slides.

Now we have the fist bump. Simple. Effective. No choreography. There are variations: high or low, hard or light.

The fist bump is partially cool and partially fear. Of germs. As fears spread of passing and catching germs, nasty bacteria that can sicken or even kill, the fist bump will displace the handshake. This is significant in that the fist is counter to the original intent of the handshake: to show an open hand.

Werefolk have never been big on handshakes, not that I have noticed in my over 250 years. It is not possible in dog form, is difficult and awkward in wereform and is even awkward for most of us in human form. But even for us the idea of greeting others with a fist is a bit awkward, and even a little  ominous. And I still say I'd rather give a sniff than a bump or a shake.

Tired. Out patrolling all night.

Caitlyn's Friend

Caitlyn has a best friend at school. The girl is also a junior, an AP student, and founder and president of the SSSG, the Student Sobriety Support Group. This in spite of the fact that she freely acknowledges that she has never touched a drop of alcohol and never intends to. Caitlyn asked her then why did she found this group. The girl answered that she id so because she thought it was important. Caitlyn was not curious about that answer. I am.

There is a new weredog in the area. She works at my vet's office and came from Nasville. I am trying to get her to join our pack. She says she can't but won't say why and is very mysterious about where she is from.

Warin called me earlier and wants to meet tonight, outside. I said, "Dude, it's not even a quarter moon." He said not to worry that I have the coat for it. Oh well. There was a time that I slept outside in winters all the time, just curled up and went to sleep. Rarely did we have fires, never if there was danger close. Oh well, guess civilization and comfort has its effects on everyone.

I need to get Warin to search for scent with me in an area not far from here, where I was told by the fox that she smelled something very strange.

I cannot recall if I posted about the fox.

Casius Marcellus Coolidge

Casius was one of the most prolific artists in American history. He created such memorable masterpieces as Dogs Playing Poker.

And he was a weredog. Of course.

Those dog paintings were not meant to be jokes. They were portraits. Of actual games. When they were found out they had to be played off as jokes.

Casius was one of the few weredog artists. Most weredogs cannot draw a straight line or draw even stick figures. But there have always been a small number, and are a curiosity to other weredogs.

Van Gogh was a weredog. His madness was due to him getting the illness from staying too long in human form too long and not cycling back to dog phase.

Caitlyn and Warin

Caitlyn has become quite the adept weredog, sniffing out and befriending werewolves all over our AO, especially in her high school, where she has discovered several weredogs, many who are being raised by werewolves, and werewolves being raised by weredogs, in numbers much more than anyone suspected. This traditional taboo now seems to be common, a new dynamic in our brave new wereworld.

Warin is now the leader of our pack. This in itself is a shocking development when one considers that he is a half-breed, the product weredog-werewolf union. Weredogs cannot breed and conceive with weredogs, nor werewolves with werewolves.

Weredogs and werewolves can conceive and and breed. I had always heard rumors of this but had discounted them as dangerous fantasy. But it is true.

Warin is bringing werefolk together, dogs and wolves, in ways I have never imagined possible, in spite of my own efforts to bridge that ancient chasm. And together wolves and dogs are facing this new threat - the noes, who even though they are quiet now, it is only a matter of time before they come back at us again, harder than ever.

Caitlyn is also helping to keep tabs on Jolina, thank Dog.

Old Ladies and Jolina

Back on the keys. Been off for a while. Had more troubles with the Varans and Waerwulfas. Actually, if not for the Varans intervening on my behalf, the Waerwulfas would have taken me on that last long walk by now. The issue was my unauthorized activities, one of which is this blog, many of which are too in the open. More on all that later.

Counter-Neo Ops have dropped off a lot. That is due mostly to a diminished Neo population, thanks in great part to my pack, and their having gone to ground and are keeping a low profile. But we know they will ramp back up. And when they do we will be ready.

Our pack has had numerous requests recently, from pack members, for assistance with elderly humans. Lasie, a pack member, is living with a man of 81 who has no family in town and who is failing with some sort of dementia. Lasie shifts back and forth between human and dog, as needed, to provide what support and needs she can for him. But it is getting harder, and others pack members are helping her out. The other day he disappeared and it took them thirty minutes to track his scent to a Chinese buffet where he was trying to sing karaoke into a serving spoon.

Klaus, pack member, is living with a widow of 76 who has family in town, her kids, but none of whom visit or see her often. She is also failing with some sort of dementia, Klaus thinks Parkinson's, and requires much of the same from Klaus, constant monitoring and shifting forms in order to play the parts of her dog and her nephew. Taking her, he says, to doctor;s exams is particularly dicy. Klaus knew he woman when she was a young girl, was known to her as her Uncle Ustaf, and found her eight years ago when he was casting about for a new phasing role. So, his connection to this woman is strong, which is always good and bad, happy but dangerous for dogs, who tend to be, on the whole, easily betrayed by our sentiments.

So, that and some other matters are keeping the pack very busy, allowing less time for night patrols, many of which now go out with only 1 or 2 dogs. I do not like 1 or 2 dog patrols. They are tactically unsound and violate the logic of always having someone to cover your six.

Jolina, Jack's daughter from a previous marriage, came to live with us. She is sixteen and a sophomore, younger than Sven and Rick, who both are eighteen and seniors. And she is a handful, and requires constant overwatch by me and rescue by Sven and Rick. Three times one of them has to go get her from a bad party, with a bad crowd, twice in different parts of town with a crowd much older than her. Once Rick and Sven had to bust some ass to get her out, due to a drunk guy who Sven says was high on something and was certain he had found his piece of ass that night. Rick knocked out two teeth and they left him and one other guy on their asses and drug Jolina out of there. I have had to go twice, each time masquerading as a cop. Once the scene and crowd was so dangerous, and my hackles up so much, and was being faced down by a clutch of tough but large punks, I shifted just enough to show some fang and give some convincing snarl. The punks could not get out of my way fast enough. Doing that, however, is difficult and dangerous. Many cannot control their transformation well enough to turn it back before completion. I am told that werewolves cannot do it at all. Jolina was so high that she was unaware of the drama or near-violence.

So, Varans and dementia and crazy teenage girls, as well as financial markets and project planning, are keeping me busy. Oh, and Caitlyn and her hyper-active lifestyle and leads. Oh, and Sarah too.