Gotta share a funny!

donna723

Well-Known Member
Forgive me for another "dog story" but I have to share this one. I'm not sure if this is funny or sad! Can dogs suffer from Post Traumatic Stress?

As most of you know, I live in an extremely small southern town. My little pre-Civil War era house is only a short half block from Main Street and the old fashioned court house square. So yesterday the Armies of Tennessee re-enactors were here again to recreate the assault on the town and the burning of the original court house by Yankee troops. This is a little different than most re-enactments in that it doesn't take place on a battlefield, all the action goes on right in the middle of town, on Main Street which is a busy State highway! They block off the street during the actual "attack" but you should have seen the looks on the faces of people just driving through town beforehand when they saw Civil War soldiers in full regalia on horseback and ladies in hoop skirts walking down the sidewalks! Hysterical! They must have thought they were in the Twilight Zone! It's so cool because some of the families of the "soldiers" dress up as townpeople and take part, even dress their children up! This years presentation was much more elaborate than last years, twice as many re-enacters, a lot more going on. And this year the Yankee troops set up an authentic camp the day before on a vacant lot about a block the other way from my house.

So I went down to the court house well before it started, and from where I was standing I couldn't see my house or down my street. They had two huge cannons in the streets on either side of the court house, one aimed directly down MY street, and when they fired these things off, the ground shook (knocked my living room clock right off the wall)! And they were firing off some kind of exploding rocket things high up in the air - REALLY loud! And I kept thinking of my four little dogs at home and how scared they must be hearing all this, so close! I knew I would probably be peeling them off the ceiling when I got home!

So this year, instead of just coming out from behind the buildings on Main Street like last year, the Yankees advanced from their camp RIGHT DOWN MY STREET! And while they were advancing, they were engaged by Confederate soldiers popping up everywhere, lot of gunfire, lots of yelling! From where I was standing I could hear it but I couldn't see it. My house is on the corner with a HUGE unfenced yard. So after it was all over and I turned around to go home, I saw a girl I knew and we were chatting. She got there later than I did and had seen the whole thing going on down my street! She said they were all over my yard, shooting and yelling and chasing each other (which probably DID happen since this house was already here then)! Yankees were hiding behind the house, running through the side yards, Confederates concealed in the bushes, jumping out and firing off shots right under my living room windows! OMG! Can you even imagine what my dogs (who are even afraid of distant thunder!) must have been thinking? It's almost funny! I had left Ragan out of her crate and I know she had to be looking out the window, eyes bugging out, watching the whole thing! When I got home (after I put the clock back on the wall) poor Ragan was traumatized so I had to calm her down, which wasn't easy. Katy, who loves excitement, wasn't bothered at all. But poor little Trace was so scared he practically velcroed himself to me the whole rest of the day and he wasn't moving! He kept snuggling closer and closer and looking up at me like, "Where WERE you? You won't believe what just happened!" Poor baby may need therapy now.

So all in all, not a normal Saturday here ...
 

Jena

New Member
Donna that is funny and i know exactly what you mean.......... down the road we have the same thing every year. they do an entire re enactment of the civil war. it's really funny how they battle, dress up the families of the "soldiers" go.... i take difficult child each year.

yes i can imagine the dog's reaction like oh no we're under attack lol. my dog would flip out he's a difficult child pup all the way....... but ofcourse right?? difficult child household :)
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
Actually they can suffer PTSD.

But that is a cute story. And really cool with the civil war stuff.

I hope the doggies settle down ok. Molly and Betsy would've come out the windows at them. Might be smart if next year they inform homeowners of their route.
 

KTMom91

Well-Known Member
Buddy would have had a fit at the "unauthorized by terrier" behavior. He doesn't even like it when strange cars park by the house.

Hope all of yours have settled down!
 

Star*

call 911........call 911
WOW your battalion is AWESOME! We go to the ones here right down the road, and friends of ours used to do reinactments in Valley Forge as members of the Daughters of the Confederacy. Belonging is HUGE around here. Our area is steeped in Civil war history. Being in Columbia and us being right near the Congaree River? We're up to our ears in it. It's huge here.

Oh that purple dress and the maroon one are beautiful!!! And the guy with the white beard looks every bit the part doesn't he? Okay I was going to say something about the Rhett Butler looking fella then I saw the wife and child so I will just say he looks like Rhett Butler. lol. Even the horses are georgeous. You took some excellent shots - even have the smoke rising from the cannons! WOW!

Thanks so much for sharing. I have a great one of Dude standing in front of a bunch of reinactors and one of them is a friends Father. dude is standing there with his Granddaughter and above it we wrote a cute little something about getting hitched - she's dressed for the campsite - but he wasn't - and they all have their gear on. We had NO EARTHLY idea how absolutely difficult and hard these men had it and how horrible the conditions were - Even their shoes. The souls didn't bend at all - and they were hard as rock - and the gear - the rifles were like nearly 30 lbs, and their clothes were horribly itchy, and thin -thread bare mostly - and they walked hundreds and hundreds of miles in freezing cold, carrying all their goods and I think even if you don't like war or battles or things like that? You should take your kids to at least ONE of these and let them see how the men were outfitted - and what these men had to go through for their country and their beliefs. Dude had an entirely new respect and perspective after we left. They let him go into the tents and see all the gear, and they outfitted him like a boy would have been try on the shoes - carry the stuff - and then told him to run behind enemy lines with ammunition - and they set pots off for explosions too - it was all just incredible. Regardless of which side - you had to respect those men and their bravery.

thanks again for the pictures.
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
I know animals suffer from PTSD - every time Onyxx raises her voice, Bubbles hides. As far away as he can get. And he and the cats want nothing to do with her, either.
 

donna723

Well-Known Member
Star, these people are from the Armies of Tennessee reenacters and they come from all over Tennessee and some surrounding states. They recreate a lot of battles including Shiloh and the Battle of Franklin. Actually, those big ones have reenacters from all over the country. We have a local group too - one of the Confederate soldiers is a guy I worked with for twenty years! That couple with the baby were so great! Even the baby was dressed up in costume! The mother had to put her hands over his ears when they fired off the cannons. And that guy with the long white hair and beard - he is just MAGNIFICENT! Very tall, straight and dignified. He always plays the Yankee commander and the hair and the beard are REAL! He is just perfect for that part! He was in it last year too. It was so funny - last year they had a picture of him in the paper that was taken after the "battle". He was holding his coat open and grinning, and the whole lining of the coat is made out of a Confederate flag! Of course, these guys are all southerners. This guy always plays the Yankee commander but the lower ranking soldiers have to take turns playing Yankees and Confederates because nobody wants to be the Yankees!

And you can't tell unless you see them closer up but a few of the soldiers are WOMEN with their long hair up under their caps!
 

Jody

Active Member
Donna.

Oh my goodness. I love the dog stories. I wish I could have been at your house just watching everything going on. Poor pups. I loved the pictures. Wow they really do get into it don't they!!!!
 

Jody

Active Member
Sure does remind you of Teddy Roosevelt. Pretty cool he could just point at them and they listened. I'de of been defiant and got shot. LOL. I would not wanted to have been taken that easily.
 
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