Miji-manidoo, Return of the Devil
In the deep forests of pine, birch, maple, and willow in the great Minnesota wilderness. There is a story, believed by some, and feared by all.
In a land of many predators, the black bear, wolves, cougar, wolverine, badger, bald eagle, hawks and the great horned owl, there is a creature that all fear.
Its torpedo-type sausage-shaped body ripples with muscle. Its tail is straight and long. Powerful hind legs, offset by stubby front legs that flank a massive chest. Its long soft ears pick up distant sounds. Its eyes cut through the darkness of night. Its nose can pick up a human smell a mile away. A long snout with vice-like jaws that can crush whatever it locks on too.
Unlike most of the predators, it is short-haired, even in the extreme winters of the northland. Ice water runs through its veins.
All of this, combined with unlimited courage, is a creature not to be crossed.
The predators of the great north woods cut it a wide berth.
The original people of the north, the Ojibwe, call it ''miji-manidoo'', simply, ''The Devil''.
Others call it by its real name, The Dackel...
A mistake is made by many when seeing a Dackel for the first time is laughing and not taking is seriously. It looks like it was put together with leftover parts and needs to go back to the factory for additional repairs.
Make no mistake, few survive an encounter with the Dackel.
Now that you have the background of this scary creature, let me tell you what happened this morning at the Kavika wooden tipi.
At 5 am, Wiki the Warrior Wonder Wiener started barking and banging on the bedroom door, trying to get out. This is very unusual for her, she sleeps in till 8 am regularly.
I stumbled out of bed and opened the bedroom door. Wiki shot out like a rocket straight to the front door, barking and growling. It was then that I suspected that this was not a pee-call.
At 5 am it's blacker than a well diggers ass in the Ozarks. Grabbing the flashlight I opened the door. Wiki was out in a flash. To the left side of the front porch is a small flower garden. Day Lillies, Indian Blankets, and azaleas abound.
Annie was trailing behind, a backup in case one was needed. Annie, in her own right, is tougher than any Rez dog I've very meet. She's battled almost everything that runs wild in the Ozarks including an epic battle with coyotes. (that's another story)
I shined the light around, but Wiki didn't need a light, she spotted it in the flower garden. She did a perfect swan dive off the porch into the jungle of flowers. All the while I was screaming, NO WIKI, thinking that it was a skunk or porcupine.
Annie, looked into the flower bed, sensing no danger she laid down. I shined the light into the abyss, and there it was...an armadillo rooting for bugs in the mulch. Wiki was ripping up flowers and was right in the face of the armadillo. Oh no Wiki, it's Amos our pet armadillo, but the Wickster knew differently. About that time, Annie growled behind me and it scared the crap out of me, as I fell into the flower bed. All I was wearing were my Valentine's Day Boxers and a Bass Pro Shop T-shirt. I was sure that a black bear was on the porch.
About this time, the armadillo headed out of the flower bed at warp speed, followed by the Drackel. As they raced across the lawn headed for a steep hill, I was yelling, “Stop Wiki.”
Finally, Wiki stopped, as did who I thought was Amos. Amos rolled up in a ball and rolled down the hill...Oh no, there are coyotes and foxes down there. Amos was in big trouble.
Wait…Amos lives under the porch on the other side of the house and has his own little garden there to root around in. I've never seen Amos venture to this side of the house. In a near panic, covered in mulch, barefoot, hair on fire, I headed to check the Amos dwelling. Stubbing my toes, and stepping on rocks, I finally made it to the other side of the house, down on my hands and knees, which by the way were bloodied by now. I looked for Amos.
Since armadillos burrow into the ground, I had built a small wooden cover, kind of like a dog house without the floor, Amos goes in there and buries himself in the dirt and mulch. (he loves mulch)
There he was. When I shined the light into Amos's house, I could see his armored shell sticking up through the mulch. Thank goodness Amos was safe.
But wait…I had left Wiki and Annie on the other side of the house, in the dark. Running back to the other side of the house, Annie was nowhere to be seen. Wiki was sitting on the porch, tail wagging, with that, ''Wasn't this fun'' look.
I had left the front door open and found Annie back in bed.
I had to get in the shower to get the mulch, dirt, and assorted thingies off me.
I finally crawled back into bed, as Red rolled over and said...”Did Wiki have to pee?”
I buried my head under the pillow and said, “Please, don't wake me till I'm damn good and ready to get out of bed.”
That, my friends, was my Monday morning.
When you own a miji-manidoo or Dreckel, life gets interesting.
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Welcome to my Monday morning.
the adventures of an attack wiener dog...
12 years in the telecommunications installation business and it was always the ankle biters that nabbed me.
Her jaws of steel would do more than nip your ankle...LOL
I found that as a stranger in the house wearing a tool belt, the words "he/she is friendly and just needs to sniff you" usually preceded an attack. I always asked the home owner to please place their dog in another room during the installation.
The only dog I ever really had a problem with was a Chihuahua.
Good thinking.
what some mutts lack in size, they make up for it with bravado...
dogs are pack animals and highly territorial. they're triggered when entering or exiting their territory, or when they think that another member of their pack is being cut away from it. after 11 years in the business, I could get into any yard with dogs without fear, because they can sense that, which also triggers their pack instinct.
So now all you have to worry about are alligators and pythons.
LOL, well that surely is enough to worry about, Buzz.
and iguanas falling from trees
That's beginning to sound like one of the plagues.
LOL!
Another great story Kavika, and one of my favorites.
Thanks, RW.
Wait a minute. Getting my coffee so I can settle down for a minute and read. Haha
Hahaha The bark behind you. Mine has done that before and scared the shit out of me.
And Annie had a hell of a loud bark and growl which sent me flying into the flower bed face first. Of course, the Devil Dog thought it was very cool. She had never seen a six foot plus Indian do a swan dive into a flower bed before.
That would have been classic, pat.
Well good morning to you! LOL! Glad everyone was okay, but yeah, creeping around the yard at 4am isn't a great way to start one's day.
I would rather avoid any more mornings like that one, EG. LOL
I don't currently have a dog but I had a Penny who was part beagle, part Jack Russell and part dumb ass. She tangled with a skunk one morning. On the front porch. Right in front of the front door.
Not as bad as your morning because I didn't end up bloody or needing a second shower.....
Well, that is a plus..LOL
I had a cat who did that once. Right in front of a pile of firewood.
my daughter's dog has been nailed 3 times by a skunk in her backyard.
Wiki gave you a run for the money for a pee pee. Wiki doesn't seem to know that she is a hound and not a ratter.
Hope your injuries were not too bad.
They take on badgers and fox a lot more dangerous than a rat..LOL
Once I got the azalea's out of my ear, I was OK.
I knew that. They think they are big dogs. I just didn't think they would go into a hole.
You're too funny!
Weren't dachels bred to go root out rats from holes?
No, too drag out badgers from their den.
They were bred to go in tunnels and dens. Long and low w
ith stubby front legs to dig and longer hind legs more powerful to push them forward in tight spaces.
And front paws shaped like paddles for efficient digging.
And absolutely no idea how small they actually are.
Casey, the Dackel mix, resembles this remark. The neighborhood cats and occasional possum live in fear. He once decided it was a good idea to face down a black bear. All 18 pounds of him (he's a bit fluffier today, having resoundingly won the battle against anorexia).
They seldom lose a food battle.
They are fearless and will fight anything. When we lived in MO two coyotes came down the driveway and she attacked them. Damn, good thing that Annie was there and ran the coyotes off.
Yup. Totally not kidding about the bear. I had let Casey out to pee before leaving for work one morning, and he was barking like crazy, so I checked on him. There he was, in the back yard, barking his head off. At the edge of the yard, a black bear was sitting on its haunches, just watching him.
We were walking one evening, and some bear cubs were climbing a tree in the wooded part of my property. Casey saw them, started barking, and tried to break free from his leash. Mama bear was watching from the bottom of their tree, and popped her head up into view. I hauled him back to the house as fast as I could drag him.
So you hauled ass and dackel.
I think I would have too. Haha
And cussed that reckless little mutt the whole way, for trying to get us both killed.
I've had four dachshunds over the years. First one was red mini and feisty as could be. One day she got into tussle with a full grown Dobermann that kept coming onto our property. She chased that dog for a block and a half one day and came back all bloody. Funny thing was none of it was her blood. Cindy would run underneath the belly of the Dobermann nipping at the undersides and back of the legs out of reach of the bigger dog. That dog never came back onto our property.
That is a personality of a dachshunds for sure.
I think my next dog will be a dackel
Good choice, Trout.
Is there a personality difference between long haired and short haired?
No, no difference in personality. There are mini doxies and standard Dixie, short hair, long hair, and wire hair. They are very intelligent, courageous and independent. The name dachshund translates to “badger dog” and they were used to hunt badges by going into their den. There are few animals that will pick a fight with a badger, the Doxie is one of the few.
I really like long haired mini doxies
I have a full grown female black lab. I think a dackel would make a good companion for her.
They do get along well with other dogs, Wiki (our dackel) and Annie (mixed breed 35/40 lbs) our rescue were the best of friends and when Annie walked on Wiki mourned for a few months.
I've only ever owned smooth haired ones. One standard size and three mini's, all reds.
When I was stationed in FL, I had a Keeshond, a Dutch barge guard dog. Unfortunately the CG thought I needed to go to other places, so I had to give Kees to a very welcoming family.
His biggest challenge to me was to see just how many 3 or 4 foot holes he could dig each day and watch me fill them in - all the while cussing him like a true Coastie.
Sweetest, loving, tender dog I've ever had. Would like to have another, but NM weather would kill them
.
I had a Keeshond when I was a kid. All my teenage years. Beautiful dog, very loyal. Got her when she was young from a farm nearby, they had to get rid of her because she kept eating the chickens.
She loved to run and roam the neighborhood though.
Photo of a Keeshond for anyone that is not familiar with the breed.
we had one when I was a kid too. he also had a taste for chickens. hated to come inside during the winter.
One time we had bought a bag of weed and couldn't find it. Thought I hid it too well or someone found it...
Finally looked under the bed and found a ripped up baggie and her lying next to it, all zonked out.
I kept my bong in that hard to reach cabinet above the fridge in my apartment. my cat mojo would open the cabinet door and wait there for me to get home from work. I had already learned to hide the bag of weed from him. he only needed me around because he couldn't flick the bic lighter.
Used to think that Bloodhounds or Beagles or Mini-Wiki's would lick your skin off, but, dammmm, Kees would almost have me soaking wet as he was apologizing for his daily escapades
I have an old pic from one time she was stoned and let us dress her up. I need to find it.