Super hero

It isn't enough for Emma 'Roid to be Captain of the Canine Pirate Star Ship Nargle.  Oh,no!!!  This entreprenurial cock-a-poo has evolved a new identity for herself.

Formerly a sweet unassuming cuddly dog in need of a groomer's touch,

Emma has found the magic Cloven Beef Hoof

which transforms her into that powerful superhero even more feared by Klingon Kats than the Captain of the Nargle,

CAPTAIN DREADLOCKS

Abuse

We Pirate Dogs were absolutely abused on Saturday. We were dispatched into the Nargle at 7:30AM and not released until 6:30PM. Good thing we were able to use the trans-warp drive and test the new phasers at any Klingon Kat that wandered into our sights. We had water and there were no "accidents".

When we were released, the alleged humans were all on about something called Pecos. Seems our dad really likes it there and they were all atwitter about some set-up with 2 houses with mountain views. I guess they would like to move there with Auntie Bucksnort and our cousins, Esmerelda and Seymour.

Here's a picture from the land the houses are on:

We're sure there'll be more said about this from our parents.

From the log of the CSS Nargle, Sirius date 61409, Midshipman Bertiquila recording.

(Note---Sirius is the "dog star." How else would we measure our dates???? Capt. 'Roid)

Holy Mackerel

If you watch The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC you know about her "holy mackerel" stories.  These are a couple of items that got me this week:

What would you think about driving a Sichuan Tengzhong to work??  I wonder if they'll make them for the military as well?  Supposedly they will still be made in the USA but I wonder for how long....

Oh, sorry, you don't know what a Sichuan Tengzhong is???  That's the company GM sold the Hummer to!!!!!!  Wouldn't it be nice if you got a year supply of Sichuan dumplings with every purchase.........

The "grasshopper" has been squashed.  Those of my generation should immediately recognize of whom I speak.  For other readers, he starred opposite Uma in Kill Bill.  David Carradine was found hung in his hotel room in Bangkok.  Such a tragic and sad end to the actor who probably did more to popularize the Shaolin disciplines and Eastern martial arts than anyone not named Bruce Lee.

The Pirate Dogs have rechristened the Nargle  "K-9 Hum "and painted it black in memoriam.

 

New Pirate Dog; Old Argument

Let's do the old argument first----There was a piece on BBC World News America this evening in which a gentleman from Oklahoma said the government was going to spend us to death and should just give the money directly to the people.  We've heard this since Paulson and W. started the TARP last year.  So, let's do the math---Let's say the government allocated $1-trillion to just be handed out to each person in the US.  That should really help us all out, right????  Well, $1-trillion divided by the population of the US, which according to the US Census Bureau population clock at about 6:00PM MDT on 5/14 stood at 306,429,317, is $3263.40 per person.  That'll go a long way to ending the downturn, won't it???  And I'm sure it would more than replace the income of those who lose their jobs as companies and local governments go bankrupt or default on payments.   

Now for the news-----We have adopted a new Pirate Dog.  Bertie, aka Roberto Fernando el toro perro, is a rescue from the local oxymoronic kill shelter.  I had wanted a chihuahua since moving here and this is as close as we have gotten, without paying a breeder.  El toro may have a little rat terrier mixed with the chihuahua but he's sooooo tiny he makes Weets look big.

In this picture he's lying in the hall next to a chip stick that's about as long as he is!!

He makes the percentage of male household members 30%.  The Captain has been slow to accept him, and Weets still hasn't. 

But the Captain is pretty mellow all the same as long as this newest crew member follows orders.

 The newcomer has bonded with First Mate Leny.  They even share chip turks and chip stix.  He's still a little too small to spend a lot of time in the Nargle however.

It's only been since Monday that Bertie joined us and he's already hassling Klingon Kats and learning the routines of life as a Pirate Dog!!!

Captain's Chronicles

Far more engaging than Sarah Conner is Emma the 'Roid and I'm sure the canine chronicles will be at least as amusing.

Emma 'Roid came into the house having been purchased from a NH lady who thought she was a breeder.  

The first time a vet looked at her, his comment was that she certainly had those "cock-a-poo knees."  Seems that one of the problems with the breed is a tendency for the rear legs to be weak and the knees all akimbo.  This certainly explains why 'Roid has to get a two-room running start to get up on one of the beds!!

She has dealt with that humiliation as well as the mental agony caused by an insensitive groomer who tried to take a pirate captain and make it too cute:

Yet through all the trials and tribulations, Emma perseveres.  Her accomplishments include supporting piracy around the globe with that fierce crew of Pirate Dogs whom she commands.  Note the looks of absolute intensity she projects from the bridge.

This is a dog who has guided her crew through the transformation from denizens of the canine seas to explorers of the galaxies, directing the transformation of the CPS Nargle into the CSS Nargle.  From her perch on the captain's chair she can survey the unfolding of space before her ship.

Truly, an inspiring figure in the canine pantheon and, despite all her accomplishments, still capable of begging for bone turks and looking as adorable as she can.........

All you Portuguese Water Dogs, eat your hearts out!!!!!!!!!!!!  All you Klingon Kats, be afraid!!!!!

The Newbie and the Problem

My wife can't help herself.  If she goes near the oxymoronic city animal kill shelter, she adds to our home's pet population.  Last week there was a lynx-point Siamese cat there.  Well, now we have more cats than dogs with the addition of GracieGrizelda.

Griz was spayed this week and hasn't emerged from under the bed since her homecoming.  Prior to the procedure, she seemed to be outgoing and friendly but now her personality is a question mark.  Will she become isolated and a virulent Klingon or revert to the nice disposition she previously exhibited?  

Of course, a rescue animal is the preferred way to add to our pet population.  But the crew of the Nargle are a little upset that the latest addition is a Klingon Kat!!!!  Stay tuned for the continuing episodes of the Space Pirate Dogs and the Klingon Kats in their quest for meaning as they travel in the space time continuum........

And then there's the concerns about Leny.  Ever since her bout with seizures, she has been a bit more mellow.  A regimen of Valium and phenobarbital over the last few weeks have had an observable effect on the poor beast-----

Yes, Leny has a monkey on her back!!!!!!!!!!!  Hopefully she will return to her ebullient self after the effects of the prescriptions run their course.  Then let the feline contingent beware---no more scenes like this:

ARMAGEDDON??????

William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)

THE SECOND COMING

Turning and turning in the widening gyre

The falcon cannot hear the falconer;

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,

The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere

The ceremony of innocence is drowned;

The best lack all conviction, while the worst

Are full of passionate intensity.

Surely some revelation is at hand;

Surely the Second Coming is at hand.

The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out

When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi

Troubles my sight: a waste of desert sand;

A shape with lion body and the head of a man,

A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,

Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it

Wind shadows of the indignant desert birds.

The darkness drops again but now I know

That twenty centuries of stony sleep

Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,

And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,

Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

This poem has been all over my life the last week or so. It was referenced in Paul Krugman's Return of Depression Economics. It was quoted in the film Nixon by Oliver Stone that I watched this past weekend. It was quoted by A.J. in the last episode of The Sopranos. What eternal portent inspired this poet? What vision had he?

Maybe it was the vision of the giant Boeing 747 flying at low altitude over lower Manhattan, conjuring up images of that fall day almost eight years ago. Two F-18 fighters appear to be in pursuit. The craft buzzes the Statue of Liberty. It banks and the sunlight reflects off of the Seal of the President of the United States. Air Force One, buzzing Manhattan, pursued by fighters. OH MY GOD. Then, the comment--"OOPS!"

Or was it the pontiff's visit to L'Aquila three WEEKS after the earthquake that leveled the town. People are still living in tents. The emergency is over says the government. Pope Benedict offered them his prayers and hope for their new lives. I bet the Person for whom he toils on Earth would have at least fed them and offered some shelter, some REAL comfort. Or maybe the Pope and Holy Mother Church have had their investments trashed like the rest of us? Or maybe he's German and this was Italy? (By the way, this writer is half-German and half-Italian so this isn't meant as a racial slur as much as a political one.)

After almost 30 years of being a hawk---Viet-Nam and Iraq--and a firm strident voice for the rule of law, Arlen Specter has left the Republican Party and joined the Democrats. Really doesn't matter if you believe this was due to his principles or his political ambition. It just illustrates how far the G O P is in thrall to the radical right. From continuing to espouse policies that have nearly destroyed our economy to the defense of torture, the Republicans increasingly marginalize themselves, forsaking the very Constitution and multi-party system they claim to hold so dear.

So the Taliban Resurgent march towards Islamabad in Pakistan---and its sixty or so nukes might fall into terrorist hands while we sit mired still in Iraq. Thanks, W, Condi, Cheney, and Rummy. Wanna go surfing---we'll hold you down on the board and see how YOU like the feel of drowning.

Finally there's the swine flu. It is an amalgam of human, poultry, and swine virus, all mutated together into a new "super" bug. Could this be the plague foretold in the Apocalypse, aka, the Book of Revelation? Did W. B. Yeats foresee this week??? Looks like his Beast has stopped slouching and broken into a trot.

Do you wonder why the Pirate Dogs have converted their beloved Nargle into a starship and the Klingon Kats have transformed their favorite perch into a Klingon Bird of Prey? They might be smarter than we humans........

Testing

Today is William Shakespeare's 445th birthday.  Wonder if anything any of us have written lately will stand that test of time????????  "Soft, what light from yonder window breaks....Aaah, it is my lady, it is my love...."---Do I really have to say what play that's from??????  For those of you who must look---last sentence.

But of far greater import to life here-------

The Captain did it---the phasers have been installed on the  Nargle.  And they work!!!!!

The "Kirk of Cock-a-Poos" test-fired them at Andromeclee the Klingon cat, at minimal power of course, and lo and behold---

from

to

Good job, Space-Pirate Dogs!!!!!!!!!

Romeo and Juliet  The prelude to the balcony scene, foo!!!!!!!!!

On a B-day and Other Thoughts

It's the 25th birthday of the discovery of the AIDS virus.  And the front runner for president of South Africa says he is ok because he showered after "allegedly" raping his infected cousin.  Is he really the best person that country could find to run it?  Too bad Nelson Mandela is so feeble---I'd say it was a prime occasion for him to make a come-back.

The modifications to the Nargle continue.  The space-pirate dogs work very hard.   They've been sighting in the phasers.  We're getting a little tired of their campaigning to go to the movie when it opens May 8th though.  Captain 'Roid just can't believe they wouldn't not only allow her into the cineplex but give her all the free popcorn she can eat as well.  After all, she is the "Kirk of Cock-a-Poos"!!!!

How ironic is it that the representative from CA who was ok with all the Bush era privacy violations is now screaming foul after she was recorded in a wiretap and her reputation compromised in a potential scandal with the Israeli supporters in AIPAC who might be spies!!!  I mean, what kind of allies spy on each other??  No I'm not that naive.......But Israel having Mossad agents in the homeland of its arguably only friend??  One should give pause and meditate on this issue.  

Or maybe on all three that this blog post has raised.

Just What I Need!!!!

Followers of this blog know the story of Leny .  Well, today she really did it.  Auntie Bucksnort was pirate-dog-sitting and Leny decided to have not one but four seizures!!!!  The whole bit, stiff legs, drooling, even cut her face near the right eye!!!  So Buck calls me, I rush out of work, and meet them at the vet.  There are things that are important in life, like making a living, raising kids, and then there's the ULTIMATE PANIC---a sick dog!!!!  Let's be real here---pets replace children after the children hit a certain age and are moved out.

So now there's this dog hanging around after an afternoon in the vet's observation crate.  And what do you think the vet gave us for meds (to keep the animal CALM)???  How about Leny will be taking 20mg of Valium twice a day and 1.5 grams of phenobarbital every day!!!!  Like I said---just what I need---a laid back dog that just goes "wow" all evening......totally forgetting the "bow" part of barking!

Of course Capt. 'Roid is pretty sure this was all caused by a continuing imbalance between the phaser generator and the anti-matter nodes on the newly installed matter/anti-matter reactor engines still being fitted to the Nargle as it is transformed from an ordinary canine pirate ship to a space pirate dog starship..........

Pour Quoi????

An old friend asked me in our last phone conversation "So what's with this Pirate Dog thing? Where's that come from?"

Well, it's what they are, collectively.  Each has a unique story and their biographies have appeared earlier on this blog.  These dogs are each a misfit in their own way.  But as a refresher.....

The Captain was purchased from a Cock-a-poo "breeder (wink-wink)" in NH.  Mostly this person was some unskilled lady who thought breeding dogs a lucrative and easy profession.  So 'Roid came to us with some severe genetic issues.  As she has matured, she's evolved from being a Cock-a-poo with bad knees to a splay-footed chow hound who haunts the kitchen looking for handouts and sits leaning against the base cabinets with one of her rear legs jutting out at a 90-degree angle from her haunches.  She needs at least a 10-foot running start to jump onto the bed, which is a successful operation about 47.6% of the time.

Now the First Mate came to us from a shelter in NH.  Her official biography lists her as a rescue from a kill shelter in Ohio where she was imprisoned as an unclaimed stray.  And she still exhibits symptoms of the low self-esteem that can be produced by such mental trauma as being stranded and unclaimed by one's own family.  Leny meets her dad at the door each evening with a ball or chip-turk firmly between her teeth.  And such a ruckus---singing, whingeing, barking---all kinds of attention getting behaviors as would be expected from a traumatized and neglected child who has found a safe haven but insists on pushing the limits of her new found acceptance.

The Lookout is a NM native.  She was rescued from the local kill shelter.  She was surrendered from a town slightly west of here.  There was no official reason given for the placement of the dog there but we suspect it was "small dog syndrome"---she has a tendency to express herself with growling and threatening body language.  All of us have had occasion to be terrified of Weets when she gets in these moods.  It might also have had to do with her predilection for relieving herself on the dry floors inside when it's raining or wet outside.  Of course, a Schnauzer-Chihuahua mix that channels her maternal grandmother might also give one pause.....

So these three individuals, each with their own style and baggage have found a home together on the High Plains and a place of safety in the crate they've named the CPS Nargle.  A worthy crew joined by their circumstances and belief that being a Pirate Dog has benefits far beyond we poor humans' comprehension

After all, no self-respecting canine would ever name a pet extermination center a kill SHELTER.  To quote Captain 'Roid, "Talk about your basic oxymoron....."

Quiz

The Pirate Dogs wonder if people are reading their blog so they've decided to post a quiz.  We really hope you'll answer by posting comments to the blog.  Readers should be able to find all the answers in the blog posts, even if it means going way back in the post history.

So here goes:

1) How many Pirate Dogs are there?

2) What are their names and ranks?

3) What's the name of their ship?

4) What did they do to SkippyKee?

5) What's their favorite treat?

6) What are their 3 favorite movies (Hint--Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley, Orlando Bloom 

starred)?

7) What do they call rawhide flips?

8) What Christmas carol did they research and change?

The Pirate Dogs thank you for your participation.  And for a bonus, 

Which JK Rowling character believes in nargles---Luna or Hermione??

You'll need to discuss with the Captain what the bonus is/will be............. 

Of Pirates and Spinners

Captain 'Roid is really pissed off. When last seen, the intrepid Captain was begging her mother to make a new flag for the CPS Nargle proclaiming the "End of the United Nations." According to a report on tonight's BBC America newscast, the UN has signed some declaration allowing countries to pursue the pirates onto Somalian land. Now admittedly, Somalia is a failed state and its sovereignty is open to debate. But to allow other countries, including Iran, China, Great Britain, and the US (talk about politics and pirates making strange bedfellows!!!!) to invade in pursuit of the pirates?? Hopefully all those military men will review Blackhawk Down before doing the same foolish thing.....And why does the US, beacon of religious freedom and defender of the right to democratic processes, so fear an Islamic government in Somalia?? Isn't Islam one of the "Great Religions" alongside Christianity, Judaism, Taoism, Buddhism, etc?? Or is all this "Islamic terrorists are radical extremists" just a smoke screen and the US is really at war with Muslims-----shades of Richard the Lion-Heart and the Crusades...........

Do you remember The Spinners from the '70's and that massively "great" song "Rubber Band Man"?? Actually, I detest that song but all the "oldies" stations seem fixated on it.

But those aren't "the spinners" I'm writing about. I'm thinking about the auto-bailout/union busters and whether the Kennedys are more deserving of power as a dynasty than the Clintons, if MSNBC be believed.

GM and Chrysler are doing worse than Packard did in the 1950's. They hemorrhage cash, blowing through billions a month. Their management has been about as in tune to the needs of the average buyer and the concerns about the deleterious effects of automotive emissions on the decaying of the Earth's atmosphere as Bush and Cheney have been to telling the truth about Al-Qaeda in Iraq, let alone the total misinterpretation of the WMD intelligence.
Now, depending whom one reads, we are either headed for, or are already in, the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. The government has bailed out the financial fat-cats but balks at doing the same for the auto-making fat-cats. The problem is that there are a lot of not-so-fat-cats that would be a lot more hurt by the death of the Big 3. About 1 in 10 American jobs is tied to the auto industry---from parts providers to transportation firms to the workers at the car plants themselves. If we want to see Great Depression type unemployment numbers (like around 25%), then let's allow the Big 3 shut down and add that 10% who lose their jobs to the present 11% without jobs. (I realize the current "official" unemployment rate is about 6% but that does NOT include part-time employees who'd like full-time jobs or those who have stopped trying to find work. That number is over 11%.) That's 21% unemployment. Wouldn't take many, if any, more Citibank job cuts to put us well over that 25% threshold.

But some Senators blame all the failings of the auto industry on the wage disparity between the union workers up north and the non-union laborers in the foreign plants south of the Mason-Dixon line. Taking a real crisis and scapegoating people who will lose their livelihoods to avoid taking action while changing the focus of the argument to something totally non-related is major SPIN!! Even if a UAW member makes $71.00 an hour, that's only $150,000/year!!! And that's nowhere near what an executive at either an auto maker or a financial firm makes!!!! As a matter of fact, it's 1.5% of the 10-million dollar paychecks and bonuses common in executive suites or a Major League Baseball locker room. So let's not blame the union. Deny the bail-out if you don't think management can turn around these companies but let's stop the b.s.

So Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg threw her hat into the ring for the US Senate seat formerly warmed by former first-lady Hilary Clinton (all this assumes she gets confirmed for Secretary of State and resigns). Caroline has a lot going for her. First, her maiden name is Kennedy. She's the only surviving child of JFK and Jackie. She's a major upgrade in looks from Mrs. Clinton and I think she's also better looking than Sarah McPalin (remember her??). So give her the job already. But first we need to watch interminable hours of every Clintonista with an axe to grind and all the MSNBC "analysts" and commentators who need to justify their salaries since the election is over stir up controversy. Who cares if Andrew Cuomo is divorced from one of Caroline's cousins?? What possible effect does it have on her qualifications for the Senate, which are about the same as Hilary's when she was first elected----a member of a family that was in the White House as well as being a lawyer. And Caroline even had a pony at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue!!!!
So enjoy "Rubber Band Man" when you hear it and wish we only had to deal with the musical Spinners instead of the bozo spinners masquerading as learned gentlemen. Hang on to your money and hope January 20 comes faster. But keep your shoes handy just in case...........

Road Trip

Hi,

Remember me, Leny (that's pronounced like the "lena" in Magdalena which is my given name), First Mate of the CPS Nargle? Well this Thanksgiving I got to accompany my parents on a road trip to CA to visit my human siblings and their families. We drove thru NM, AZ, and a lot of CA---over 1300miles. Dad was glad gas is under $2.00/gallon.


I met my nephew Rocket, a Boston terrier. He's the canine member of the family with 5 kids, my dad's son 's family. Rocket is a typical male---couldn't keep his grubby paws off these beauteous buns. I really like the human pups and guarded them from any and all adults who didn't get clearance from me to visit them. They live on a cul-de-sac with lots of human puppies!! I felt it was my job to screen any adults I didn't know and make sure they had legitimate reasons for approaching the playing children. Can't be too careful in today's world, that's what ol' Crow's-Nest Weetzie always sez....


My mom made a sweater for one of the human pups and she looks so cute in it. I hassled my dad to do a video about the trip and here we go----you'll get to see him, me, Rocket, kids, and scenery. Thanks to Glenn Frey and Jackson Brown for writing the soundtrack song, the version is from the live reunion album Hell Freezes Over.

We got to spend some time with my human sister and her whippets, Mystified and the Lummox. I was my usual dominant self, even though the Lummox is pretty bad. I guess it's just me, so lovable!!!!!!!!!!!

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!! I certainly did!!!!!!

Happy Halloween

Today I saw a sign on a church advertising a "Festival of Lights" for the evening of October 31. I'm sure my conception of this is very different from theirs. My ideal would be all these kids dressed in costumes carrying flashlights or lit up pumpkins throughout the neighborhood where all the windows have illuminated Jack-o-Lanterns or glow-in-the-dark black cats or witches...... cackle cackle.... boil and bubble, toil and trouble..... wingardium leviosa. Please can I have some extra candy????

But this is a special time of year for the denizens of the CPS Nargle. Obviously they can't have chocolate and too much sugar is worse for their teeth than for the average kid. But they get excited none the less.

Captain 'Roid has been plotting in the Nargle about vengeance on the cats. Her musings are interrupted whenever anyone goes into the kitchen, however. The Captain is the original chow hound. You can see from her face she just was giving orders ending in "ARRRRGH". Just look at that scowl!!!! Lord help whichever cat she has decided to take action against.

Now First Mate Leny has just returned from her patrol of the perimeter of the yard. Her primary duty is to bark and hassle any travelers in the alley behind the house. She also keeps a wary eye out for any stray cats who happen by. Her favorite prey is Skippy-Kee who loves to tease and run. But have you ever seen a cuter pirate dog?

Lookout Weetzie keeps both eyes peeled for trouble, especially in the form of joggers or walkers in front of the house. Her assignment is to nag the First Mate until the latter goes to the window and acts ferociously enough to deter any passers-by. Even though Weet's right eye doesn't look all that clear in the picture, she doesn't miss a trick---or treat.

After all, isn't that what this holiday is all about?????????? So be generous, especially if these three come to your door:

Happy Halloween from the Pirate Dogs. Remember, they love you and a little treat goes a long way----Trust me, you don't want their "TRICKS."

Plumbers and Attacks

Joe the Plumber, Joe the Plumber, Joe the Plumber, Joe the Plumber, Joe the Plumber, Joe the Plumber, Joe the Plumber.....A campaign that gets too much money can become corrupt.....
These are Republican talking points, coming in large part from the candidate John McCain himself. Personally, I'd be distancing myself from Plumbers and corruption if I were a Republican. Or doesn't the Maverick remember a little break-in at the Watergate Hotel by someone linked to him personally, G. Gordon Liddy, a member of Nixon's Plumbers, the epitome of corrupt campaigning. John, John, John, where did you go?

So there I was, walking through the bedroom. When a flash erupted from the top of the Nargle. Poor little Weetzie the look-out fled in terror. AndromeClee had leaped from the mast of the ship and slashed her vicious claws at the look-out. And the Captain is brooding in the recliner.......

The Captain's Latest Plan

What a week!!!! Financial melt downs, bail outs, campaign peccadilloes, yuck!!! But the Pirate Dogs have a new plan for us------ Monday we were watching The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC. Usually the crew pays attention when dogs appear on screen but that insipid Purina One commercial with that overly compliant and obviously dim-witted Retriever-type dog makes them ignore the tv. But the story that followed the ad, that's another story. Captain Roid perked right up as Rachel related Google's plan to green itself up by moving some, if not all, of its computer centers to barges in the ocean. The reasons she cited for this action were reduced costs (hence more profit) in real estate taxes and upkeep and using water to cool the computers which should enhance the company's greening up image. But what drew the attention of the Captain was one of the possible downsides of the plan. Ms. Maddow talked about weather disasters such as hurricanes being a hazard to the barges. She also mentioned pirates as a potential hazard. The Captain then proceeded to the Nargle and came up with her plan---taking over Google!!

Imagine----you or your child searches for information on computer chips. Normally you would find a picture like this:But instead, since the Pirate dogs now control "The Google", you get their interpretation of your search parameters---Chip Turks (otherwise known as rawhide flips), of which they have a treasure chest full:

Going to the doctor, or searching a site like WebMD for information on your skeletal malfunctions normally would lead to something like this--
But our crew of buccaneers has taken over and their image is of their favorite treat: BONE-turks:
Finally, your fourth grader needs to do research for a civics paper, the topic is agriculture, and she googles wheat. When the servers were land based, she'd probably have gotten an image like this:

But after the takeover the monitor displays a portrait of Crow's Nest Weetzie!!!!!

So good luck to Google and all its users if they go ahead with their offshore plan. And happy (belated) talk-like-a-pirate day from Capt. Roid, First-mate Leny, and Crow's Nest Weetzie!!!

"ARRRGH!"

Pirate Dogs Bios #3: The First Mate

We met at the Stratham NHSPCA shelter. The celebrated Tan Dog, Saint Hannah, had been put down because of a recurring cancer and at that time, the Captain wasn't exhibiting the personality she later developed. So we joined the line on an autumnal Tuesday morning for the debut of the latest dogs entering the NH shelters from other states' kill centers. Since people in NH pay attention to and follow spay policies and recommendations, the state has a paucity of animals available for adoption and imports dogs from other states. The animals arrive on Thursday, spend a few days being examined and evaluated, and are made available for adoption on Tuesday of the following week. So we arrived right at the time of the shelter's opening, at the very front of the queue. ( If you are in the market for an animal who'd benefit from your love and attention, check them out http://www.nhspca.org/ )

We passed several dogs we'd seen previously and wished them well. Then at the back of the kennel there was a large cage. A black form ran to the very back of it. Too shy?? We almost passed by but then the creature rushed forward to the door of the cage, grasping a rubber ball in its jowls, talking to us intensely and pleadingly. It was more than we could stand---I spread my arms in front of the cage and sent my wife to get a leash so we could get the dog out of the kennel. The sign on the wall said "Ella."

Ella bounded out of the cage and was so appreciative at the attention. One wise policy the NHSPCA has is having the existing pet(s) meet the prospective adoptee to determine their ability to get along. The Captain and Ella hit it right off. Would that we could foresee how well.......

So we took Ella home. We quickly realized that "Ella" sounded too much like "Emma", the Captain's given name, so we renamed the newest addition after a couple of our favorite New Mexico locales--Ella was christened Magdalena Cochiti. Of course that's far too many syllables for a dog to comprehend, so we call her Leny (pronounced lane-y), a contraction of Magdalena.

Leny is a Sharprador, i.e., a Labrador Retreiver Shar-Pei cross. She's actually more of a Flop-ra-dor in behavior, using the Shar-Pei fighting tactic of suddenly lying down--flopping--- to get under her adversary. A strange mixture---mostly a Lab's black body with a face that has massive jowls and thanks to Shar-Peian wrinkles, Leny frequently sports a worried or concerned expression.

As previously noted, Leny was thought to blame for some destruction in our house and joined the Captain on the CPS Nargle. Leny has the propensity to skin problems that afflicts Shar-Peis. We'd had her less than a week when she barreled around the corner of the house, slipped, and impaled herself on a cut-back rose bush. This required her to be confined in a lampshade for several days

and the wounds flushed with betadine. What a way to bond with your new puppy--lifing it into the bathtub, flushing her wound out, lifting her out of the bathtub, not cuddling her but rather all the while hoping to keep her away from your body so you don't stain your clothes with the solution......Wonder what Leny thought of it all?


She has fully recovered and is as sweet as she was in that cage in Stratham NH. Condemned to an Ohio kill shelter as an "unclaimed stray" she found her way to NH and now lives with her family and the Pirate Dogs in NM. Leny comes immediately when summoned and is never more than an arm's length away, waiting for a belly rub. "Unclaimed Stray"???? Please..........

Pirate Dogs Bios #2: The Crow's Nest

The newest of the Pirate Dogs is the subject of this biography. We think Weetzie-Bat is a chihuazer, a cross betwen a schnauzer and a chihuahua. She is a rescue from the local kill center. Yes, we live in an area where dogs surrendered or captured and brought to the pound have a death sentence imposed on them. Weets had one day left. So my wife took pity and brought her home. I think her pound name was Rosie or something equally saccharine and unbecoming. We know she came from another town and first christened her "Melrose Mousie" but a friend commenting on the picture in her adoption notice made note of the ears that could likely be used for flying. That, and the dog's nasty disposition (small dog syndrome), brought to mind a young adult book with the title and heroine Weetzie-Bat. Thus was she named.

Weets, being the least in stature of the Pirate Dogs, became the look out for the crew. She perches on the back of furniture as if it were a crow's-nest high above the decks of the CPS Nargle.

Her primary raison d'etre seems to be barking and snarling at real or imaginary passers-by. God forbid someone on the tv rings a doorbell. That sets off the loudest cacophony of all! Of course, being the most diminutive canine buccaneer, Weets barks and nips at Leny to get her to threaten the perceived intruders. A true denizen of a crow's-nest!

Lately Weets has begun to channel my late mother-in-law. There was this hair-cut, sort of spiky and silver. And she sort of glowers at me when I playfully pull her tail (tail wedgies). She has been known to lie under the covers on the bed and growl at any contact with her person. So Weetzie-Bat and Weets-Elva are morphing together and who knows how this will affect the chain of command on the Nargle. Time will tell.