Hell Hounds

I reference to my life a lot without a cast of character in my life. I need to fix that
Girl is a Presa Canario. She came to me after the cops shot her twice when they were raiding her 1st owner’s crack house. It sucks she got shot, it has most assuredly effected her health negatively, but I have shot a fair number of dogs myself so I know the why of it. I am close friends with the lady who runs the local Great Dane rescue, and somehow Girl came into her hands after animal control picked her up. My friend though Girl was the perfect dog for me. Very thoughtful gift and Girl has been a joy and a blessing. To the outside world Girl is 105 pounds of pure fucking hate, within the family she’s pretty much a lazy ass sweetheart of a dog. There isn’t much she’ll take form strangers but gets bullied by the other dogs in the family. It cracks me up to look over and see her giving me the sad face because one of the other dogs took her bone or her spot on the bed or some such. She’ll defend what’s hers when she wants, but it doesn’t happen often. Every few months she comes back to the door covered in blood and gore. She is a killer and eats what she kills. Mostly gophers but she pulled down a fawn before. Still she has a sketchy background and I am careful about introducing her to strangers. She loves my nieces though, and does well on the leash. My Majordomo is 74 and still likes to go for walks. Girl dotes on MD and no one fucks with her when Girl’s with her. The girls say Girl is the lady dog version of me. Not sure what to think about that one but Girl is much like Girl#1 in that our time together is always easy and peaceful

Boy I know more about Boy than any other dog. My little brother picked him up from his local Pit Bull rescue. Boy was rescued from a fighting kennel. We don’t know if he was a ring dog or a bait dog, but either way he is chewed the fuck up, had a fucked up beginning in life and hates Black folks. We reckon his 1st owner was Black. He isn’t fond of kids so I keep him in his kennel when kids are over. I picked up Boy after my brother died and his kids turned demonic toward the dog. Without him around, Boy started getting more aggressive, especially toward my nieces, thought the girls had it coming. I send boy to my daughter’s house when my nieces come to visit. I use to have a small problem with coyotes and stray dogs. Boy fixed that, though my guess is he did it with a lot of back up from Girl. He tried to go after Girl when I 1st brought him home. Steel toe boots to his ribs fixed that problem. Girl would have killed him with a smile on her doggie face. Boy’s favorite game is “who’s the bitch now”. He shit tests more than any woman. I shut them down hard and fast which turns him into a perfect angel for 30 days or there abouts. I cannot see boy without thinking about my little brother and how much he loved the dog. Boy likes to steal people food, which always gives him the shits. He is found of climbing into my lap when I am sitting in my favorite chair. His other big thing is playing chaperone. He is affection/ attention starved so whenever me and one of the girls gets to hugging and a kissing, he does his best to interfere. His night time mission is to figure out a way to sleep between me and my beloveds. Sometimes he wins, sometimes the girls win. I win either way. It’s funny as hell and a big family joke. Boy is just plain fun. He still thinks he’s the big dog of the house no matter how many times he gets put in his place. He is always alert and always ready to tear up strangers. My daughter takes him when her Husband is out of town. Boy is my everyday living link to my beloved little brother.
Odin is a black Great Dane. He is 220 pounds of alpha. When the other dogs get to yapping, one bark from Odin shuts them up. Across the whole damn neighborhood. He likes his peace and quiet. The other dogs don’t play around Odin when he is sleeping. I live in the semi hood/ rural hood with a lot of Pit Bulls running around. They all back down from Odin. Damn near everyone in the neighborhood is scared shitless of him. His default setting is menacing. He only gets more intimidating from there. He is the most muscled up dog I have ever seen and insanely strong. It’s like he’s running steroids around the clock. I got him from the same lady who gave me Girl. Odin’s big sin? Biting a man. Damn near took the dudes hand off. I’ve seen the pictures and the police report. The family who owned Odin before me claims the dog was defending their kid from an out of control neighbor. One of those he said she said deals which saved Odin’s life, but meant the original family had to get rid of him. Occasionally I send photo of him to his original family. They are happy he came to me. I know they wanted to take him with them when they PCS’ed but thankfully they didn’t ask. I take Odin with me when I mess around with other rescue Danes. It’s good for the other dog’s disposition. Like women, most dogs’ issues come from not understanding where they fit in the world. When Odin is around the dogs know where they stand. And it isn’t in the #1 slot. Not long ago I was interacting with this mastiff with fear aggression issues. Odin was standing on a deck, looking down at me and the other dog. When the other dog lunged for me, Odin charged off the deck and knocked the other dog down with a shoulder butt. Knocked the 150 pound dog off its feet and into the air. From that point forward the mastiff started mellowing out. Now that massive belongs to my father and they are constant companions. Funny enough, no one likes my old man or that dog so they are a matched pair. Odin is the dog I take out into the world with me. He is everything a man could want in a dog and then some. He is extremely well behaved. I always attach a leash to him, but I rarely need it. Odin is my traveling dog and I took him with me when I took Red Man and Little Beauty fishing. I can send him and Red Man anywhere and he won’t leave Red Man’s side. Or any kids side. He is utterly devoted to the family and takes his role as alpha dog serious. Odin is my pride
A side note on dogs. Read the books How to be your puppy’s best friend and how to be your dog’s best friend by the Monks of New Skete. Best books on game ever written. Dogs, kids, women…. Same same when you get down to it.
Thor is another black Great Dane. He’s about 140 pounds or so and a giant goof ball of an animal; always happy, always wanting to play, always on the quest for affection, attention and fun. He is happiness in motion when he runs. It’s a joy to watch him enjoy the world. Odin is my pride, Thor is my joy. He is another rescue Dane; his 1st family turned him in for aggression issues. Which is normally bullshit. Folks don’t want to own up to not wanting such a big dog and turn them in for “aggression issues” all the time. Any rate, just thinking of Thor puts a smile on my face. He is also extremely smart. You can watch the wheels turn in his eyes before he is off stirring up shit with one of the other dogs. He is also the fastest and most agile dog I’ve owned. When he brawls with the other dogs, he runs away, loops around and bites them on the ass and runs away before they can turn around and get a hold of him. I trust Thor not to eat the kids next door, but otherwise he’s an unruly son of a bitch. Completely good natured about it but the boy is not well behaved at all. I rarely correct him though. I’d hate to see some of his joy fade and the rest of the world can enjoy him with us or fuck off.
Fact is, I trust all these dogs to be dogs. I never worry about the security of my person, property or loved ones with the Hell Hounds around but that doesn’t mean they are ready for life beyond Camp Ton. Also I renamed all these dogs when they came to me. New life, new start, new name.
Well that’s the cast of K9 characters in my life. A friend use to joke that my place was a home for the unwanted, wayward and broken. It’s not really a joke. Thor is the only one of us not one of those things.
This is a big chunk of my family and my life. When I get home, one of the girls lets the dogs out the door and I am over ran by 400+ pounds of happy doggies. Always makes me smile. My favorite photo of us is me in my chair, my dogs and girls at my feet. All properly collared and leashed of course.
I talk about the same things a lot; work, training, chasing ass, motorcycles and dogs but that’s because these are the things of my life. I a simple Southern country boy, the big city and fancy shit isn’t for me. . I cannot imagine a life without dogs being worth much just like I cannot imagine a life without fishing and motorcycles being worth a damn. It’s not that I don’t know any better; it’s that I know there isn’t anything better