Bex!'s Peeps

If you know my wife, you'll know she's not much of a dog person.  Don't get me wrong - she doesn't dislike dogs and she thinks most of them are pretty darn cute.  Still, she isn't going to go out of her way to pet a dog, play with a dog or interact with a dog in any direct way.  Of course, that will all change when I get my border collie, which I will name Sitstay.  "Sitstay, come!"  Heh heh - my dog is gonna be screwed up. 

Portland is a very dog-gy city.  There are restaurants and bars that have outdoor, dog-friendly areas like this place.  You see people in stores with their pooches.  On the MAX, the streetcar, the buses.  There are entire parks dedicated to dogs and their people.  In fact, right near our old place in NW Portland is Couch Park.  The city made it dog friendly a few years back, even though there is a large playground structure for children.  Did they put a fence around the new canine area?  No!  They fenced off the playground!!  Haha!  Guess the mayor knew which was more dangerous to the public.

So... wife ≠ dogs.  Not in a bad way, mind you.  Bex! doesn't seek out dogs; dogs don't seek out Bex!  Simple - everyone is happy.  

On the other end of the spectrum is my son, David.  Wherever he goes, he attracts dogs like St. Patrick attracted snakes and the Pied Piper attracted rats - and  children.  Dogs just seem to sense that he loves dogs.  A few years ago, we visited him and his family in Honduras and wherever we went, dogs came up to him for a scritch on the head.  Random dogs, sometimes in places we hadn't even seen a dog - a dog would appear.  We would be eating dinner and a dog would walk up, go under the table and lay at his feet.  Weirdest thing, but really so special.  He is a loving soul and dogs can feel this about him.

Then comes Isla de Ometepe, Nicaragua... and everything flips upside-down.

From the day we arrived in Merida, dogs seemingly lined up to be acknowledged by Bex!  They sit next to her and stare at her like she's supposed to magically produce Milk Bones.  They lay at her feet.  The brave ones will inch closer and closer until they can rest their head in her lap.  

I am convinced that somewhere on this island, high up the slope of Volcan Concepción, in a large cave that is heated by a river of lava, is hidden an ancient Nahuan stone carving of a human deity that has been worshipped by dogs for thousands of years.  I believe that, to this day, canines from all over Central America make annual pilgrimages to this cave to leave offerings such as bones, their owners' best dress shoes, those impossibly frustrating Kong chew toy things, the family cat, etc.  They do this because they await the return of their goddess.  I believe this has finally happened, that if I could find this cave I would see that this stone monolith bears a striking resemblance to my wife.  It's the only logical explanation, really.

The first pooch that made her acquaintance was this guy - Buster.  He's been a regular fan of hers for our entire time here.  He's polite and is even starting to answer to his new name.    [Speaking of names... Bex! just named them with the first moniker that came to mind upon first seeing them.]  I bet he holds a place of high honor within the dog populace due to the special treatment he has received from their goddess.

All this attention - I am a very modest dog.

But yes, I do have adorable ears.

Our second day here, this one came to greet Bex!  He was dubbed One-Eye because... (scroll, scroll...)

Just chillaxin' with my queen, yo.

...yeah, you get it now.  He's shy most of the time but has moments where he'll feel comfortable enough to just sprawl out near our table and fall asleep.  He's pretty awesome and loves a good head scratching, when we can coax him in close enough.

And this, boys and girls, is why we call him One-Eye.

This one is kinda sad but looks much worse than she really is.  She's skin and bones - and lactating, so has pups somewhere nearby.  Even though she looks horrendous, Ally McBeal is actually pretty healthy.  She eats regularly, we're told.  Ally McBeal can be found around here frequently, but is extremely skittish.  That's me scratching her ear and it took some patience and time to get her this close.  

Did the skeletal look go out of style?

This handsome fella down below is Ranger Rick.  We'd been here a week or so before he made his pilgrimage.  It's a big island and I imagine it takes some time to get word around to all the dogs that the deity had returned to Isla de Ometepe.  Plus, dogs are busy - there are animals to chase, butts to sniff, garbage to go through...

Nature is fun, kids!

The camera adds 10lbs.  And a backpack!

And, last but not least - introducing Fourth Meal (below).  Yeah, yeah - not a chihuahua - we know.  But the ears are close enough that it's the name given this one by Bex!  And who are you to question their goddess!??!  He was a late arrival to the worshippers.  I picture Fourth Meal being a skeptic.  "I know word on the calle is that She has returned.  But I don't believe it.  I'm going to wait to see if the rumors persist.  If they do, I'll go check it out myself.  If it is Her, then I'm cute enough to be forgiven for not believing right away.  Beside, everyone knows I'm not one to jump on the bandwagon.  Chase the bandwagon and bark at it for 20 minutes, sure."

Three tacos, two gorditas, a nachos grande, a seven layer burrito, and a Mountain Dew, please.

The better to see you with (when you steal my Mexi-Nuggets).

Fourth Meal has some crazy eyes, right?!  He seems cool but we're still getting to know him.  Look at his cute little dainty dog feet, too.  I bet the other dogs tease him.

There have been many dogs that have come and gone here.  Some we've seen only once; others a few times over the course of our five weeks here.  Most seem reasonably healthy and cared for.  Hard to tell, really.

So, there you have Bex!'s canine worshippers!!

I will now close this post with a quote from the great Jack Handey, who wrote "I hope if dogs take over the world and they choose a king, they don't just go by size, because I bet there are some chihuahuas with really good ideas."