Dogue

Baron von Brecht, known among his canine friends as The Baron, was a Schnauzer exptraordinaire. A strong and a wise leader, the middle-sized, salt-and-pepper dog saw in a flash that he had to do something to save the dignity of his fellow dogs.

"Auchtung," said the German dog firmly but gently. All the dogs listened closely to their leader. "It is obvious that the days of yore will be no more since the invention of the locomotive with its iron wheels, smoky chimney, and long tracks that never seem to end. The day is just around the corner when the stagecoach that we've accompanied so faithfully will cease to be."

Conrad, the German Shepherd, spoke."Fellow canines, The Baron is right. We must change our jobs or be put out to pasture ourselves. The Shepherds know we won't be able to herd sheep since the farmers have put up so much fencing. We plan to go into police work."

"Well said," spoke the Schnauzer. "You are thinking well. But your thoughts are directed toward making career changes alone. We must also think one step beyond."

"I like your thinking, Baron," spoke the hairy Dachshund. "Because our family is small, we could become extinct in a flash. What do you have in mind?"

"I propose," said the Schnauzer in his most command voice, "that we revenliven The Brotherhood." A stir filtered through the group.

"Yes," said The Baron, bringing the animals to silence. "Reenliven The

Brotherhood of the Dogue. Seek the Old Masters, bring back their great spirits. Allow them to reenter us. So no matter how much Man's world changes, we, the ever faithful Dog, will always remain pure."

The Weimaraner exploded into applause. The Dobermans followed, loudly clapping their powerful paws. The voice of The Baron mesmerized them. Here was a leader who was saying out loud what each dog had feared: something must be done or dogs as they'd been known would vanish.

"Baron, Baron," said the monkey-like Affenpinscher. "We all agree. We must survive. Not just as Man's best friend, not just fitting into his world, but true to US -- asdogs. But how do we regain The Brotherhood? How do we even contact the old Masters? It's been so long since we were united with the Great Ones that no one remembers how."

The group turned to the Schnauzer. His proud head drooped. "I don't know," he admitted humbly. Then he looked up proudly and said, "That's why I brought the issue to you, great dogs of Germany. Perhaps one of you knows something."

Bruno, the Bull Mastiff, wiped the slobber from his wrinkled jowls. He coughed and said, "Years ago I heard of an Old Dog, ancient by our standards. He is reputed to be one of the ancestors of the Mastiff. I believe I remember hearing that he lives high in the Alps. It is said that he alone has kept the old tradition alive."

"Ya," spoke the Rottweiler for the first time. My Great Grandpappa told me stories about this aged one when I was but a pup."

The Baron thought deeply. Nodding his head, he stroked the great mustache and beard he was famous for. "Yes, yes. We must visit the old Dogue. I will leave in the morning. But I will need help. I do not know exactly where the old one lives."

"I do," said Bullenbeiszer, the athletic Boxer. My Great Grandpappa told me the same stories that Rolf heard. Molossus is his name. I will go with you. And a good thing, because we might meet bear and wild boar, and I know how to handle them."

"Bother," said The Baron. "I am on a mission. I need no protection."

"Mighty Schnauzer," said Bullenbeiszer respectfully, "no one doubts your bravery, but I know the way. And I am a fearless foe against all wild beasts that roam the mountains." The Shepherd grumbled to himself. "It's not the four-footed ones you must fear: it's the two-footed beast as well."

The next morning The Baron and Bullenbeiszer left for the high Alps in search of the wise and aged Dogue.

Along the way they were met by fellow canines, patriotic Germans who had heard of the mission through the doggie grapevine and helped them find their way. Jerry, the Jagdterrier, a fearless combatant. Lucifer, the Great Dane who insisted his German ancestry by stating that his true name was Deutsche Dogge or German Mastiff. The Draththaar or German Wire-haired Pointer. Also, the Dachsbracke, with its regal airs. They all guided the Schnauzer and Boxer through the hidden valleys of the famed mountains. Finally the German Pointer gave instructions. "Be wary. There are many Beasties between here and the caves where the Old One is said to live."

No sooner had the Pointer spoken than a violent boom and murderous whiz flew overhead. "The Hunters," said Bullenbeiszer. "Quick, into the forest so the branches will redirect their bullets."

"Hunters," said The Baron, disgusted. "Why do the German soldiers on leave have to drink so much bier when they carry their big guns?" Another boom, this one closer. The metal-jacketed shell ripped through the trunk of a pine tree directly over their heads. The two crawled quickly on their

stomachs deeper into the thick woods.

The Boxer spoke like a true warrior. "They have us in their sights. We must get to the base of that cliff and circle it or we're doomed." The Schnauzer and Boxer scurried. As they caught their breaths, a small Pomeranian suddenly appeared as if out of nowhere.

"Step this way, gentlemen. Schnell, schnell -- quickly now. We don't want to give away our hiding place. Schnell, schnell!"

The two travelers looked at each other and laughed to think that this little dog could direct them anywhere. "Why," said The Baron, "he isn't evenGerman."

"Wrong," snapped the Pomeranian. "My heritage can be traced back to the Stone Age, to the ancestralCanis familiaris palustris.In those days we lived in the area known as Pomerania, in the Baltic, which later became Germany. One could say we are more German that some "German" dogs. But this is no time to talk about pedigree. Into the cave, schnell, schnell!"

The Schnauzer and Boxer found themselves in a great cave. They gazed as the small dog covered the opening with brush so no hunter, with or without bier, could find them. The Baron asked, "How did you find us? How did you know we were here?"

"Members of The Brotherhood know everything. But you didn't come to hear me. You came to speak with Molossus. He will tell you all you want to know."

As the Pomeranian lead them on, Bullenbeiszer chuckled, "You forgot to say schnell."

In the middle of a smaller cave sat a great dog. Huge in size, he was the most vicious appearing animal The Baron and Boxer had ever seen. But to their surprise, the animal spoke gently. Powerfully, but gently.

"So, you have come to reenliven the eternal Brotherhood of Dogue,"

said the old one reputed to be the ancestor of all Mastiffs, the great warrior dog of olden times.

The two visitors were impressed by the size of the animal and his clairvoyance. They sensed this great animal could help them, but would he?

"You come at a propitious time," said the Sage, "when Germany and the world is changing rapidly. And I agree with you, Baron," nodded Molossus. "Recapturing The Brotherhood is the only way to survive." The two visitors felt more confident. "But first," said the Great Dogue, "we must have meat!"

The Pomeranian immediately presented them with great chops, firm flanks, raw rumps, and the juiciest, chewiest slabs of meat they had ever seen. When they had licked their own chops sufficiently, their massive host told them of the old ways. Of times immemorial, when great dog spirits roamed the earth, when freedom reigned. He reveled in the memories. His eyes grew faded as he experienced that time, before the Ethereal manifested itself into body form. The Great Molossus said only by attuning to the Transcendent could Dog be saved.

"But," interjected The Baron quickly, "the Dogs of today want to survivephysically, not just mystically. How do they...?"

Molossus whisped away the objection with his mighty paw. "Am Imystical? Am IAbstract?"His penetrating eyes burned into the Schnauzer. The progenitor of the Mastiff spoke firmly. "No, I am REAL. And I have lived eras and epochs and will continue to do so merely because I have learned the Secret of The Brotherhood." And then, with great emphasis, the host said, "And I have incorporated this into my everyday, physical, Dog life."

The Schnauzer and Boxer needed no more convincing. Molossus then

raised his great paws over the heads of his visitors and imparted the mysterious Transcendent that all animals posses but have forgotten since domestication. Filled with the realization that they could never lose their Dogness no matter how Man changed his circumstances, the two seekers knew the future of all Dogs was secure. All they had to do was pass on the experience to their brothers and all would be well in Dog Land.

"Now go," said the great hulk. "Gather all Dogs, German. Bring the Schnauzers, the Boxers, German Shepherd, the Deutsche Dogge, Jagdterrier, Draththaar, the Dachsbracke, German Short-haired Pointer, and Dachshund and Doberman. Collect the Weimaraner, Rottweiler, Bull Mastiff. And don't forget the Affenpinscher, for the the little Monkey Dog is as German as any of us."

The Baron and Bullenbeiszer smiled. The, seriously, asked, "But what will we tell them, Molossus?"

"Tell them you have spoken with me. Tell them I have given you the technique to reunite their Dog souls to their physical bodies. Then give them the technique as I have you."

At that moment the little Pomeranian poked his head out of the protected mouth of the cave. He looked quickly from side to side. "If you hurry," he said to the visitors, "you will miss those drunken soldiers and their murderous guns. Quickly now. Schnell, schnell!"

As the two dogs dove through the mouth, the little Dog added, "And don't forget to impart the knowledge to the Pomeranians!"

Baron von Brecht and the athletic Bullenbeiszer scampered down the slope, through the forest, and through the valleys to Dog Land. And, according to instructions, they gathered the great Dogs of Germany so that they could ensure their future no matter how great Man's industrialization became, how many fences he put up, how many

locomotives and steel tracks he crisscrossed the country with, or how drastically he might change life with his new inventions. And the two initiated them in the ancient, eternal, mystical rite just as the Sage had done to them.

And since that momentous meeting, many a human has sensed that his canine pet knew something that he couldn't explain or quite put his finger on. All he could do was attribute this unknown quality to the nature of the beast, that animal that could see better, hear better, smell better, and sense better than he. What Man didn't know was that under their hairy surface, the great German animals had passed to Dogs everywhere the Brotherhood of the Dogue. That supreme technique of maintaining ones eternal, mystical Dogness while still in the physical form of the common, household pet.