Yesterday I met with man I once crossed sticks with and a few time clanged glasses with, near a sandy shore, down by the sea, among some close friends and their women and children.

I then met a new dog friend.

He is Ely, a big “rapey” old boy who snorts under the patio table.

This is heartening. For a man who has been hunted by feral pitbulls through the streets of Baltimore for decades, and as a boy had the ill-luck to be attacked by a Puerto Rican Border Collie and its two-legged co-conpsiritors, I feel a sense of relief when dogs approve of me.

There was Backfist Mick with one great English friend—Ely, a big bulldog, an old fellow who is ancient for his kind. This brought up the subject of dogs and Backfist Mick's brother in arms, Marcus Mickus related dog stories from Iraq.

On the way home to the strip club, where my host makes me stay in the dressing room with the meat-dolls, he remarked to me, “I regard the friendship and judgment of dogs to be a mark of good character. The fact that so many of your hosts have dogs and that these dogs approve of you, I think says something about all of us. Don't you think?”

Yeah, thinking again, that would be nice.

I then recalled that I wrote an autobiography of Mucker the Hero Dog, telepathically dictated to me while his master was at work over four nights in late winter of 2019...

So, before I attempt to recount the various four-legged friends of mine—with associated cats included as a supporting cast—it is proper to link to the no longer active shadow site where I wrote as Randy Bracken for a couple of years. The tag Of Dogs and Men, will carry ongoing four-legged friend news and memories. Until next Friday—that day being a big day for dogs with working masters who cook steak and eggs for them—I hope you enjoy Mucker's Hero Dog Saga.

Of Dogs and Men

My 2019 Autobiography of Yeti Water's Faithful Old Dog

Roog Roster

A Gallery of Four-Legged Friends and their Masters

Eastern Dogs

-Ely, English Bulldog, friend of Backfist Mick

-Anonymous Iraqi Bitch, camp follower of Marcus Mickus, a dog of legend, never met by the author

-Zoe, my Little Sister's Collie

-Hunter and Diesel, two mini-pincers I dog sat

-Jennie, Erique's short-haired mix

-Lemme, Nero the Pict's cat, a cat that makes dog-grade

-Chandler, Little Emma's boxer

-Teddy, the Parisian Beshan patriarch, Manny's four-legged Robert E. Lee

-Baily, Teddy's golden doodle love interest

-Oliver Lewis, Teddy's upstart heir

-Ripley—Rick's terrible little bird, a cautionary critter

...

Western Dogs

-Charlie, Electric Dan's old mixed hound, companion of H.P. Lovecraft the cat

-Winnie, Bob's bitch hound of bad character

-Izzy, a shepherd-collie mix, The Colonel's “killer”

-Amos, Izzy's dumb-ass, meat-munching brother

-Toby, Tobias, Tobbes, Tobison, The Captain's black short-haired shepherd, who is actually commanded by Ani the black cat and is the friend and advocate of The Colonel's two werewolf dogs, Izzy and Amos. Toby will hopefully be played by Chris Rock in the animated film about his many crimes. I wrote him as a character in Uprising and plan on using him as Clyde Barrow's dog in Rebel Knell.