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I live on the outskirts
of El Calafate, on Lake Viedma in Patagonia, working as a shepherd
for the WTPC (Worldwide Textiles Producers Cooperative). Fortunately
for me I have a well-trained pack of rottweilers
that keeps guard over my charges; a five hundred head flock of
Alpaca, so I have ample time to write stories and paint pictures
except, of course, during sheering season.
Other than the occasional nuisance of tourists,
El Cal is a placid place; cool and windy because of the
glaciers, never humid and bug plagued like the lowlands of Argentina. |
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From an early age, the patient showed signs of anti-social
behavior, was prone to fits of fantasy and behaved in unfeminine
manner. |
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Over time, her nonconformist behavior grew unmanageable. She
frequently rebelled against social convention and eventually
developed an irrational loathing for patent leather shoes. |
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Every once in a while something interesting happens.
Lately, the herders have been passing stories
through the mountains. Some have been loosing livestock; finding
scores of cattle, sheep, alpaca and lama dead out on the veldt
with torn throats; every drop of blood drawn from their bodies.
We tell the tourists that pumas have been
taking the stock because tourism money is the life blood of the
towns people in El Cal, but it isn't mountain lions and everyone
who lives in these hills knows that. We know what's really out
there.
El Chupacrabra.
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Last night one of the devil eyed monsters attacked my flock.
It was one of the southern plateaus variety; heavy limbed with
long, saber tooth type of canines, but the same black and gray
brindled fur and night piercing red eyes - like the kind tree
frogs have - of the northern Chupacrabra. I heard it howl from
the cabin.
By the time I ran out with my 308, the dogs were already
on the thing. It was a big one, probably two and a half meters
tall and went six hundred pounds, maybe more. It was
hard to tell in the dark.
The chupe, as we call them in the Patties,
was no match for my rotties so I didn't loose a single lamb.
However, the dogs made a mess of the beast, racing across the
veldt, gaily tugging and tearing at the carcass until its
guts were strung through the bush for a quarter of a mile like
macabre Christmas lights. Sometimes, the pack is a little over
enthusiastic, but they got the job done. |
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She made few attempts to conform. During those periods
when she did, the staff concurred that she was quite an agreeable
little girl, but admitted that her persistent, compliant smiling
and over eager, twinkling eyes gave them the willies. |
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Unfortunately, as time went on she just got more and more
strange.
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Thanks for stopping by.
Regards,
Beth
You can find my actual bio at www.critters.org;
a fine online science fiction, fantasy and horror writers' workshop
run by Andrew Burt.
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Brief
History of the Rottweiler
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Considered a light mastiff, the breed originated
in ancient Rome and was used by the Roman Army as cattle drovers
to protect the herds used for food stuffs on long campaigns.
Bred to be fearless, intensely loyal, reserved, physically versatile
and protective, the Rottweiler was brought to northern Europe
with the Roman expansion. It was in the German provinces that
the breed continued its occupation as a cattle drover and draft
animal.
The name 'Rottweiler' is derived from the region of Rottweil,
where the dogs were most commonly bred, was known for the production
of red roof tiles which in Old German translates as 'Rot' (Red)
and 'Weil' (Tiles). Versatile in nature, eager to work and please
their masters, Rottweilers also made splendid hunting dogs in
the Middle Ages. Because of their size and strength, they were
principally used for hunting bear, boar, wolf and other large,
potentially aggressive game animals. |
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Today, they are best known for their instinct
to defend and protect and are most frequently used in law enforcement
and search and rescue.
In case you're curious, docking Rottweilers'
tails was a tradition left over from the days when the dogs were
used extensively for draft work. Long tails tended to catch in
the trace racks of their harnesses. The practice has gone out
of fashion in Europe, but is still in use in the United States
today. Undocked, the natural Rottie tail looks like a curled
version of a Labrador Retriever's tail.
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