KILL DOZER — MARV HEEMEYER’S ATTACK ON A SMALL COLORADO TOWN

On June 4th, 2004, fifty-two-year-old Marvin Heemeyer went on a rampage at Granby, Colorado in an armor-fortified bulldozer he hand built for the job. In two hours and nine minutes, Heemeyer and his Kill Dozer destroyed thirteen buildings along with many vehicles, causing $7 million in damages. Fortunately, no one was injured except for Heemeyer whose life ended with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

The Granby damage was massive. It was also unprecedented. Never had anyone taken an ordinary construction bulldozer and, over the course of a year, turned it into an impenetrable war machine equal to an armed military tank.

Also unprecedented was the story behind Heemeyer’s rampage on his town. It’s a story of feuds, a story of paranoia, and a story of an ingenious man who built a single purpose machine — an assault system solely made for a devastating attack on a small Colorado town.

Here is the Kill Dozer story.

Marvin John Heemeyer was born in South Dakota. He never married and had no children. Marv, as he was known by everyone, moved to Granby, Colorado in 1992. He bought two acres of land and set up a welding and muffler repair shop. He was a highly skilled mechanic and a supreme welder. Soon, Heemeyer had a thriving business and accumulated a good deal of wealth.

Heemeyer was popular with his friends and was an avid outdoorsman, particularly a love of snowmobiling. Friends found him a natural leader and a generous soul. His Granby neighbors and town officials saw him otherwise.

The Docheff family owned an adjacent property to Heemeyer. In 1998, they applied to the Town of Granby for a rezoning application so they could build a concrete batching plant. Heemeyer opposed this and tension began.

Shortly, a sanitation issue arose about Heemeyer’s property. He managed his sewage through a non-approved holding tank and a makeshift drainfield. The town bylaws disallowed this, and officials ordered Heemeyer to hook up to the civic sanitary system. This required a lengthy pipe run and would cost Heemeyer somewhere around fifty thousand dollars to construct which he refused to pay.

The town council responded by ordering the bylaw enforcement department to fine Heemeyer daily until he complied. He still refused and eventually forked over $3,350 to avoid arrest. Heemeyer had retained a lawyer who found a loophole and had the daily fines stopped. The town council responded by working to close the loophole and continue the compliance pressure on Heemeyer.

The Docheff family gained their rezoning and began building the concrete plant. By now, their conflict, feud if you will, with Heemeyer escalated. Out of no coincidence, the shortest and most economical route for Heemeyer’s sewage run was through a short section of the Docheff property. The Docheffs were ordered by the Town of Granby to allow Heemeyer a sewage passage easement through their site.

This, the Docheffs couldn’t refuse. But they did refuse Heemeyer a further road thoroughfare through their new concrete facility which had been used under a common law understanding for years prior to Heemeyer’s arrival. Heemeyer was now landlocked and had to build a new road at an immense cost.

Heemeyer conceded when the Docheffs offered to buy Heemeyer’s shop and lot. They settled on $250,000 and had a deal. That was until Heemeyer broke it and raised the price to $375,000. The Docheffs accepted the counter. Then Heemeyer raised the stakes to a million.

The deal collapsed and Heemeyer was back facing his two problems—the sewer line and the road. Now, Marv Heemeyer was a determined man. He went to a California auction and bought a bulldozer. Most folks thought Heemeyer intended to use the dozer to build his new road. However, once Heemeyer trailered it back to Colorado he simply parked it. The front end, with its sizable blade, pointed directly at the Docheff concrete plant.

It’s important to know something about Granby. Its population was around two thousand, and it sat about an hour and a half drive northwest of Denver. It’s small town in mindset makeup with most of the council members being from long-established families—the council being a circle of good ole boys.

(Fast forward to Heemeyer’s motivation. Before starting his Kill Dozer rampage, Heemeyer tape-recorded his views of the Docheffs and specific council members. He mailed the tapes to his brother on the morning of the crimes, and they were later released to the media. If you’re at all interested in this case, it’s a must that you watch a 2020 documentary titled Tread. It’s on YouTube – Click here and you’ll hear Heemeyer’s actual voice stating his grievances and intentions. It’s an exceptionally well-filmed and edited production.

In 2002, Heemeyer was offered an out. It came from a Granby family who were expanding their garbage collection business. They purchased Heemeyer’s property and buildings for a generous sum which left Heemeyer well off financially. Part of the deal was Heemeyer retaining a lease on one shop, and inside he parked his bulldozer.

The new owners negotiated a road passage from the Docheffs and, within a week of possession, had the sewer connection built. Meanwhile, Marv Heemeyer secretly went to work modifying the machine.

Heemeyer’s bulldozer was a Komatsu D355A. Its static weight was 49 tons, and its 410-horsepower turbocharged diesel engine allowed a crawling speed of 7.35 mph. However, its pushing and pulling power was enormous.

Heemeyer began transforming the dozer into a tank by welding a shroud of double-hulled ½ inch thick steel plates separated by a 4-inch concrete liner that encased the entire driving cab, engine compartment, and vulnerable track parts. This increased the weight to 61 tons or 122,000 lbs. The shroud’s effect was equivalent to plate protection on an Abrams tank that could withstand small and medium-sized firearms and hand-thrown explosive devices.

Marv Heemeyer planned for a heavy counter-offensive. His operating compartment was completely sealed from any external environment threat, including gas attacks. He devised a filtered air conditioning system that was fan-driven and filter-backed. For sight, Heemeyer positioned six external cameras linked to three video screens that gave him a 360-degree view. Over the camera lenses, he placed 4-inch-thick, bullet-proof Lexan plastic guides. And knowing his lenses would be affected by building debris, Heemeyer installed compressed air nozzles to blow away the dust.

The ”MK Tank”, as Heemeyer called it, wasn’t just a mobile battering ram designed to knock down buildings. It was also heavily armed with three weapons set through firing ports. One was a Barret M82 50 caliber (12.7mm) semi-automatic sniper rifle. The second was a 7.62 (.303) FN FNC semi-automatic assault rifle. The third was a Ruger Mini-14 5.56 (.223), also in semi-automatic mode. (For the non-firearms folks, these are immensely reliable and capable weapons.) As well, Heemeyer had two handguns in the operating area – a 9mm pistol and a .357 Magnum revolver.

Heemeyer had his Kill Dozer fully loaded with fuel. In the mid-afternoon of June 4, 2004, he was set to go. He lowered the cabin shroud with an overhead hoist which sealed him inside with no way out. This was inherent in his design and showed he planned to fight to his end. When he was ready, he fired the beast up and burst from the shop. Straight through a wall.

Heemeyer’s first target was Docheff’s concrete plant. He rumbled over and began to smash buildings apart and crush parked vehicles. In shock and awe, the Docheffs vainly tried to stop him by jamming metal rods into the tracks and blocking the Kill Dozer’s path with their on-site machinery. That failed.

Heemeyer had his way with the Docheffs. Then he headed for town. Over a two-hour and nine-minute demolition derby, Heemeyer managed to destroy thirteen buildings and a pile of cars and trucks. He’d made a list of his victims, and he methodically carried them out.

On the list, besides the Docheffs, were the former mayor’s house, the town hall, the police station, a hardware store, a bank, and even the public library. During the rampage, every available resource was activated. The police SWAT team tried to defeat the machine with bullets and stun grenades, but these had no effect. Even climbing the “tank” was near impossible. Heemeyer planned for this as well—he’d greased the sides of the armor plates.

Heemeyer’s attack on the town might be one of the best-documented crimes ever committed. Everyone from town turned out to watch: Moms, dads, kids, and the dogs. Many had video cameras and today YouTube is loaded with the carnage.

News agencies had helicopters in the air firing live feed around the world. The Colorado Governor was also planning a helicopter thing—considering activating the National Guard with Apaches equipped with anti-tank missiles to take out Marv Heemeyer.

That never happened. Marv Heemeyer caused his own demise. While he was about to bulldoze his nemesis’s hardware store, the dozer’s radiator sprung a leak and shorted his power through overheating. As he was swathing the side of the store, Heemeyer failed to account for a basement and the right tracks became suspended in the void which stopped his traction.

The machine shut down. The rampage was over. Soon, a single gunshot rang out inside the Kill Dozer. Heemeyer put the .357 in his mouth and pulled the trigger.

It took hours before a work crew with blow torches was able to cut through the plating and remove Heemeyer’s body. The machine was eventually scrapped and the pieces were dispersed to various scrapyards—the thinking was to prevent souvenir hunters from building a shrine to what was becoming a folk hero.

Today, around the internet, there are fringe groups who worship Marv Heemeyer. Here was a man, they say, who was smothered by The Man and struck back with due vengeance.

Others see Marv Heemeyer as a crazy man, a domestic terrorist, a common criminal who, by the Grace of God didn’t kill anyone but himself. The police point out how many shots Heemeyer fired at them, and town officials pointed out that a children’s group was in the library when Heemeyer attacked.

Mentioning God, this is a good point to wrap up this post as God played an important role in Heemeyer’s determination to build the Kill Dozer and unleash its terror on the Town of Granby. Again, if you’re really interested in what made Marv Heemeyer go to such lengths to commit such an atrocity, watch the recent 2020 documentary titled Tread. It’s on YouTube – Click here and you’ll hear Heemeyer’s actual voice stating his grievances and intentions. It’s an exceptionally well-filmed and edited production.

Here are quotes from Marv Heemeyer taken from his pre-assault recordings:

“God built me for this job. I think God will bless me to get the machine done, to drive it, to do the stuff I have to do. God blessed me in advance for the task I am about to undertake. It is my duty. God has asked me to do this. It’s a cross that I am going to carry and I’m carrying it in God’s name.”

“I was always willing to be reasonable until I had to be unreasonable. Sometimes reasonable men must do unreasonable things.”

COULD YOU WITHSTAND CIA ENHANCED INTERROGATION TECHNIQUES?

The United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has a 75-year history of covert, creative, and controversial operations. One black classified op is a series of tactics used to forcibly squeeze information out of resistant people. The program is labeled Enhanced Interrogation Techniques. Some call it torture. My question is, “Could you withstand CIA Enhanced Interrogation Techniques?”

There’s an interesting history of how the CIA’s interrogation program developed. We’ll get into that in a bit, as well as discuss what constitutes “torture” under domestic and international law. First, let’s get right into the 13 officially sanctioned interrogation techniques used by the CIA. In somewhat of an order of severity, and with a brief description of each method, they are:

1. Abdominal Slap — The purpose was to cause the detainee to feel fear and despair, to punish certain behavior and humiliate or insult the detainee, according to a description in government documents, obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in 2009. The interrogator stands about a foot from the detainee’s stomach and slaps the detainee with the back of his hand. The interrogator’s hand is held with the fingers together and straight and slaps the detainee’s abdomen. The CIA was using this technique prior to 2004 without approval by the Justice Department.

2. Attention Grasp — The interrogator grabs the detainee by the collar, with two hands, and pulls him closer in, according to a description of the technique by former CIA acting general counsel John Rizzo. Rizzo described this technique being used on Al-Qaeda operative Abu Zubaydah in his recent book Company Man.

3. Cramped Confinement — The interrogator would put the detainee in a box, sometimes big enough to stand in, for up to 18 hours, or one only big enough to curl up in for up to two hours, Rizzo said in his book. The interrogator had the option to put a “harmless” insect inside the small box when the technique was used on Zubaydah, because he hated bugs, Rizzo said.

4. Dietary Manipulation — This technique involved switching from solid foods to liquid. For instance, in August 2002, Zubaydah was put on a liquid diet that consisted of Ensure and water, a Senate report said.

5. The Facial Hold — The interrogator holds the detainee’s head so it can’t move and puts one hand on each side of the detainee’s face, keeping fingertips away from the detainee’s eyes, Rizzo explained in his book.

6. The Facial Slap/Insult Slap — The interrogator slaps the detainee in the face, with fingers spread, striking between the chin and earlobe, Rizzo explained in his book. The idea, Rizzo said, was to startle or humiliate the detainee, Zubaydah, and “disabuse him of the notion that he wouldn’t be physically hit.”

7. Nudity — This technique was used with others. For instance, a detainee would be forced to stand for prolonged periods while nude. The detainee would also be paraded nude in front of other detainees. Further, detainees were totally shaven.

8. Stress Positions — The purpose of these techniques is to stimulate mild discomfort from extended muscle use, according to a description in a government document obtained by the ACLU. Two such positions, used on Zubaydah, were to have him sit on the floor with his legs stretched out in front of him and his arms above his head, or kneeling on the floor while leaning back at a 45-degree angle, Rizzo said in his book.

9. Sleep Deprivation — Detainees were kept awake for up to 180 hours, often standing or in a stress position, the Senate report said. Sometimes, the detainees’ hands would be shackled above their heads. At least five detainees had “disturbing hallucinations” during this technique, and in two of those cases, the CIA continued the practice. One detainee, Arsala Khan, hallucinated after 56 hours of standing sleep deprivation in October 2003.

10. Wall Standing — A detainee faces a wall, standing about four feet away. The interrogator has the detainee reach out his arms toward the wall so that his fingers are touching it. The detainee would have to hold that position indefinitely, according to a description by Rizzo about this technique used on Zubaydah.

11. Walling — Interrogators slam detainees against a wall. In one instance, Zubaydah was slammed against a concrete wall, the Senate report said. On March 22, 2003, Al-Qaeda leader Khalid Sheikh Mohammed underwent “intense” questioning and walling. Giving up no new information, interrogators water-boarded him. After an hour of that, he said he was “ready to talk,” the CIA said.

12. Waterboarding — The detainee is strapped to a board or bench, and water is poured over the detainee’s face to simulate drowning. According to the Senate report, the technique brought on convulsions and vomiting, immediate fluid intake, and involuntary leg, chest, and arm spasms. Abu Zubaydah became “completely unresponsive, with bubbles rising through his open, full mouth.” Zubaydah was described as “hysterical” after these sessions and “distressed to a level that he was unable to effectively communicate.” At one point, Khalid Sheik Mohammad was water-boarded 65 times between the afternoon of March 12, 2003, and the morning of March 13.

13. Water Dousing — Naked detainees were held down on a tarp on the floor, according to the Senate report. The tarp would be pulled up around them to make a bathtub. Cold or refrigerated water would be poured on them. In some cases, detainees were hosed down over and over again as they were naked and shackled, standing in a sleep deprivation pose.

About the Central Intelligence Agency

The CIA (known internally as The Agency) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the United States federal government. It’s tasked with gathering, processing, and analyzing national security information around the world, primarily using human source intelligence (HUMINT). The CIA also performs covert actions on foreign territory using spies, plants, decoys, and deeply embedded undercover officers.

President Harry Truman formed the CIA in 1946, and it’s now celebrating its seventy-fifth anniversary. Over those years, the CIA had its good and bad moments, one notably being the Bay of Pigs invasion attempt on Cuba which nearly brought down the Kennedy Administration. Another is the handling of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda detainees held and interrogated at black facilities in Europe, Asia, and at the Guantanamo Bay site in Cuba.

Unlike the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the CIA is not a law enforcement agency, The CIA has no powers of arrest or search and seizure. It is autonomous to domestic law enforcement and generally gets an unaccounted reign free from court oversite. The CIA allegedly has a much larger budget than the FBI, but this information is hard to verify.

History of the CIA Enhanced Interrogation Technique Program

Conventional law enforcement agencies and military services like the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marines are strictly ruled by tight regulations regarding prisoner treatment, including interrogation tactics. Court admissibility of prisoner statements long established that no evidence is ever admissible where a detainee has been physically or mentally abused, never mind tortured. The armed services are also held to standards like the Geneva Conventions for prisoner-of-war processing. Not so with the CIA.

The Enhanced Interrogation Technique program is an evolutionary product. It started as the US Air Force’s Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape school (SERE) formed in the Vietnam War era to train downed air crews on withstanding enemy interrogation and torture. The SERE school employed two questionable psychologists, Dr. Jim Mitchell and Dr. Bruce Jessen, who developed scenarios and put the service people through simulated situations such as the 13 techniques previously listed.

Agents at the CIA took a close interest in what was happening at SERE. They contracted Drs. Jessen and Mitchell to reverse engineer the defensive SERE techniques into offensive tactics and train CIA operators as detainee interrogators. The Enhanced Interrogation Technique was under development just as the terrorist attacks occurred on September 11, 2001.

Within days after 911, the Bush Administration decided to treat the attacks as an act of war, opposed to a criminal conspiracy. Part of this planning was deciding how to handle detainees —as captured prisoners of war or as criminals to be tried in the American legal system. As police, the FBI, and the armed services were bound by strict prisoner handling regulations, this left them handcuffed in getting critical information out of high-value captures.

The simple and obvious answer was turning the dirty work over to the CIA and having it done on foreign soil. This led to the notorious black camps and the ‘anything goes’ atmosphere in treating and interrogating detainees like Abu Zubaydah, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and Mohammed al-Qahtani. In the thick of things were Mitchell and Jessen who received millions of CIA dollars in fees for running the program.

Digging into the CIA Enhanced Interrogation Technique program is a deep, deep hole. It’s been investigated by numerous committees and subject to reams of reports before it was shut down on Obama’s second day in office. It’s not our purpose here to analyze right from wrong or effectiveness from ineffectiveness. Rather, the question here is could you withstand the CIA’s techniques that could be described as torture?

Definition of Torture

Merriam-Webster defines torture as:

1: the infliction of intense pain (as from burning, crushing, or wounding) to punish, coerce, or afford sadistic pleasure

2: something that causes agony or pain

3: anguish of body or mind; agony

The Geneva Conventions of 1949 had this to say:

Article 3 Absolutely Prohibits torture and other cruel or inhuman treatment and outrages upon individual dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment of prisoners. Violations are serious breaches that constitute war crimes.

The 1984 United Nations Convention Against Torture (UNCAT) expands as follows:

Article 1

For the purposes of this Convention, the term “torture” means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.

Article 2

Each State Party shall take effective legislative, administrative, judicial, or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction. No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability, or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture. An order from a superior officer or a public authority may not be invoked as a justification of torture.

Amendment VIII of the United States Constitution reads:

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines be imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment be imposed.

These parameters seem very clear to dealing with domestic law breakers and conventional war prisoners. However, examining the CIA’s actions on Taliban and Al-Qaeda detainees finds two loopholes big enough to drive a bus through.

First, the never was a clear declaration of war against these opponents, and it’s rightfully argued that guys like Abu Zubaydah, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and Mohammed al-Qahtani were not prisoners-of-war nor charged criminally under US or international law—rather “detainees” in a no-man’s legal land.

Second, protection under the US Constitution wouldn’t’ apply as these “detainees” were not American citizens and were (intentionally) detained and interrogated abroad where US laws wouldn’t apply.

What’s done is done, and it’s had to say what good the CIA’s efforts had on getting critical information from high-value targets. Officially, the program is shelved. Unofficially, who knows what’s still going on.

This post’s purpose isn’t to criticize. It’s just to ask, “Could you withstand CIA Enhanced Interrogation Techniques?”

TELEPATHIC COMMUNICATION + UNNATURAL MAYHEM

Today’s DyingWords guest post is by my dear friend and long-time working colleague, Sue Coletta, who just released her fifth book in the Mayhem Series titled Unnatural Mayhem. Before giving you a taste of it, Sue’s going to talk about telepathy and talking with the animal kingdom. This is a very insightful read but, then, what else would you expect from Sue Coletta.

Deep down, each of us has a powerful, underused connection to the world around us. Consider the time when you sensed someone watching you, even if you couldn’t see them. Or the gut feeling, telling you something significant was about to happen. Or the intuitive, instinctive feeling that gave you the name of the person on the other end of the line before checking the caller ID.

If we learn how to tap into this sixth sense, we begin to notice when someone—dead or alive—is thinking about us, even when we’re physically apart. Telepathic communication explains why, when you randomly thought of a friend and she texted you the next day. Or that time when you spontaneously called an old friend, and they said, “I was just thinking about you!”

Writers are especially attuned to the “little voice” inside us. Some are more intuitive than others, but we all have an underutilized sixth sense. Once we learn its power and how to use it, new doorways open up, doorways that enhance our writing.

If we’re open to the possibility of telepathy, the more sensitive we’ll be to messages from our Spirit Guides and ancestors, and the synchronicities or coincidences that have always been present in our lives.

The Natural World thrives on telepathic communication.

An animal’s survival depends on it. If you’ve ever wondered how one species warns another about potential threats, telepathy answers this question. And humans — as members of the Natural World — can tap into that same energy.

The notion of telepathic communication first intrigued me as a way to chat with animals, wild and domestic. Because when we watch and listen to animals, they help us reach our full potential. Animals enrich the mind, body, and soul. They’re sentient, intuitive beings who communicate with us in many ways. Body language, vocals, and telepathy, whether we’re cognizant of it or not.

Think about this: The average animal knows more about their environment and ecosystem than you or I ever will.

An intuitive exchange with any animal — cats, dogs, guinea pigs, crows — begins the same way. First, with physical body cues. Then with the silent language of love. Remember the miraculous gift Poe gave me last Christmas? I’m watching the calendar, hoping and praying Poe will bless me again this year.

How to telepathically communicate with animals?

Step 1: Rest your hands over your heart and practice deep breathing exercises.

Step 2: Once you’re relaxed, pay attention to your heart, to your soul, and feel the gravity of your love for that animal.

Step 3: Express your love for that animal by visualizing a soft beam of light, a tether connecting the two of you.

Step 4: Silently or vocally ask the animal for permission to telepathically communicate with them.

Step 5: If you don’t sense any reluctance, express how you’re open to receiving messages in return. Keep it light in the beginning and progress deeper once you build trust, confidence, and strengthen your bond.

Keep in mind, animals live in the moment. They’re not distracted by the phone, the to-do list, or regret. And so, you must also stay in the present to connect with them.

The only obstacle is you.

Trust the flow, the energetic pulse of life. Align with, not against, this flow. By blocking out all distractions, the energy exchanges between you and animals will naturally occur. You are in the present, anchored by love and grace, and coming from a place of neutrality. You are part of the Natural World, connected across space and time.

When we focus on lowering the frequency of emotions — fear, self-doubt, anxiety — we raise our cognition, enhance the vibration of our energy, we align with nature. Animals are drawn to bright inner lights, and thus, will be enthusiastic about communicating with you.

“Telepathy, of course. It’s amusing when you stop to think about it—for years people have argued about whether or not such a thing exists—and all the time it’s been right there, lying out in the open like Mr. Poe’s The Purloined Letter. All the arts depend on telepathy to some degree, but I believe that writing offers the purest distillation.” ~Stephen King, On Writing

What does the quote mean?

The best way to think about writing is the process of transferring a mental image from your mind to the mind of a reader. As writers, we envision scenes, settings, characters, etc. Our job is to transfer that mental image to the page for the reader to experience later.

Sounds a lot like telepathy, doesn’t it? Because it is!

Hence why writing coaches tell us to envision our ideal reader(s), carrying their image with us while writing. The trick is learning what imagery to include and what to leave out. Hint: Less is more.

In the Animal Kingdom, the sender and receiver of communication may be part of the same species or from different species.

Crows, for example, warn the chippies, squirrels, and numerous small birds when dangerous predators are in the area. They do this with a vocal alarm, and every animal pays attention to it. When crows are relaxed around good people and familiar animals, they blink several times per minute and have a roaming gaze. If a predator prowls or coasts into their domain, their unblinking, hard stare warns other wildlife in the area.

Warning Coloration

In species, such as wasps, that are capable of harming potential predators, they’re often brightly colored, and this modifies the behavior of the predator who either instinctively knows to be wary or has learned to use caution through past experiences. Some forms of mimicry fall in the same category. For example, hoverflies have similar coloring to wasps. Even though they’re unable to sting, wasps still avoid them.

Behavioral Changes

Wolves and coyotes may adopt an aggressive posture, such as growling, head leveling, or baring teeth to warn a potential predator to stay back, that if they approach, they are ready and willing to fight. Rattlesnakes use their telltale rattle—it means, “If you come near me, I will strike.” Certain amphibians have a camouflaged back that helps them blend into their environment. If confronted by a potential threat, they flash their brightly colored belly. This says to the predator, “Don’t bite me or you’ll get a mouthful of poison or venom.”

Stotting

An example of prey to predator communication is stotting, a highly noticeable form of running by some antelopes, such as the Thomson’s gazelle. Stotting shows that the animal is healthy and fit, thus not worth pursuing.

Human & Animal Communication

We are all part of the Natural World. Various ways in which humans interpret the behavior of domestic animals and/or wildlife fit the definition of interspecific communication. Although dogs can use vocal communication, they mainly display nonverbal cues like tail carriage and motion, ear and eye position, body position and movement, and facial expressions. Recognizing the correct nonverbal cues will help decipher what the dog is telling us.

While observing a dog’s body language it’s crucial to observe the entire dog, as well as the situation or context. For example, a dog’s wagging tail doesn’t always mean Fido’s happy. A tail in motion is often noticed first, but the rest of the dog is board-stiff, the ears folded back, and the dog’s in a couched position. The full picture — verbal, nonverbal, and context — tell us Fido isn’t happy.

5 Common Groups of Canine Signals

Keep in mind, a dog could use more than one response at a time. Hence why it’s important to analyze the entire dog, not just one body cue. Fido may start with a display of excitement, then decide the stimuli is a threat and switch to aggressive posturing, or send fear signals, or both.

As we review each group, notice the similarities to other species, including us.

Fearful Communication

When a dog is frightened, he’s likely to react with his whole body. He may lick his lips, yawn, keep his mouth tightly closed, cower or lower his body, lower or tuck his tail, or flatten his ears. He may also tremble or shake, avoid eye contact, or lean away from the frightening stimulus.

The body language may be a combination of several signals and/or may appear as a progression through these signals as the dog’s response intensifies. Sometimes, the complete absence of active signals can speak volumes. A dog that won’t eat food or treats, avoids humans, and/or freezes when someone reaches for him — a “shut down” appearance — is demonstrating fear. Sadly, we often see this behavior in shelters when dogs don’t get adopted right away. Shelter dogs also may display high arousal or excitement.

Arousal Communication

The arousal in shelter dogs could be due to many factors, including age, confinement, lack of physical and/or mental outlets, and personality. An arousal/excitement response may indicate joy directed at a certain person, another dog, or toy. If the context is a favorable one, the dog should have a soft, relaxed body, eyes, and mouth, along with a wagging tail that jumps for attention. He may also play-bow — rear-end in the air, front-end lowered — to demonstrate excitement. Other cues may include jumping, mounting, and mouthing. Mouthing should be soft (no teeth).

Arousal behaviors can also be directed at unfavorable stimuli, such as an unwanted human, animal, or situation. Arousal signals in this context may be coupled with fear signals, such as trembling or a low/tucked tail. Or the arousal signals are paired with aggression — barking, lunging, anxious pacing or spinning, or biting of the leash, clothing, or the threat itself. The dog’s fur pilo-erects (hackles), his ears bent forward or at attention, stance upright and erect. The tail is often up and wagging stiffly, and the eyes are wide and focused on the target. He could also bark, growl, and/or lunge.

Anxious Communication

If a dog becomes stressed, he may exhibit excessive panting, pacing, and lack of focus. Similar body language to a fearful dog, when in reality, he’s filled with anxiety. Thus, why context is key. A dog that jumps at the kennel door as someone approaches is displaying arousal/excitement. Whereas a dog bounding off the side walls of the kennel displays anxious communication.

Aggressive Communication

Aggression is a normal and natural behavior in animals, triggered by a perceived threat. Aggressive vocalizations and body posturing are warning signals.

In dogs, we understand aggression through body language that includes stiffening or freezing, eyes widened with whites visible (called whale eye), tense mouth or curled lips, wrinkled nose, bared teeth, barking, growling, and air snapping.

All species have their own aggressive communication. Including us.

Relaxed Communication

We all love dogs in a relaxed position, like s/he doesn’t have a care in the world. Mouth relaxed, lips slightly parted. A smiling appearance. Head and ears relaxed in a neutral position, body loose, eyes soft. His/her tail may swish back and forth or wag in a circular motion. My favorite is when a dog’s lying in the frog-leg position. Those froggy legs are hard to resist! Guinea pigs and squirrels also froggy leg, btw.

All species use relaxed communication. Including us.

Why am I sharing this specific topic with you? Glad you asked.

UNNATURAL MAYHEM  has just released! It’s a book I’ve wanted to write for years, but when the idea first struck, I thought I had to create a new series. The day I sat down to write the fifth book in the Mayhem Series, I realized I already had the perfect characters to tell this story.

UNNATURAL MAYHEM is also a pivotal book in the series. If you haven’t read any other Mayhem books, you can start here and not feel lost. Shawnee will fill you in.  What Shawnee ultimately discovers sets her on a new path to fulfill her destiny. And her and I share that same burning passion driving our every step. The underlying message in UNNATURAL MAYHEM touches me on such a deep, personal level that it’s taken the series in an exciting new direction.

UNNATURAL MAYHEM was also personally fulfilling to write. I wanted to create a story that matters, a story that could help make a difference, and I think I’ve accomplished that. Ultimately, you’re my judge and jury. My hope is, the story will touch you on numerous levels. Though some scenes are deep and emotional, others are laugh-out-loud hilarious. And, of course, there’s plenty of action and suspense.

Poe scored his own cover! Check it out…

Description:

Can a cat burglar, warrior, and Medicine Man work together to stop a group of trophy hunters before they tear apart the Natural World?

Explosive news of a crow hunt rings out in the White Mountain Region of New Hampshire, and one hundred crows gather to put an end to it. With so many lives at stake — including Poe’s — Shawnee and Mayhem must work together to stop the trophy hunters before they obliterate the local murder.

Taking on twenty-five experienced hunters armed with shotguns is no small feat. If they fail, Poe may lead his brethren to their death.

No matter what it takes, this group must be stopped. But what if Shawnee and Mayhem aren’t seeing the full picture? What if these men have secrets worth killing over?

The dedication, and my wish for you:

May Mother Earth guide your feet.
May Father Sky keep his arms around you.
May Grandfather Sun warm your cold days.
May Grandmother Moon keep the glow in your heart.
May the Star Nations light the way to the next destination
and the Great Spirit always keep you shielded from pain.
  ~Native American blessing

From my family to yours, Happy Holidays!

*To try and make a difference, most of my proceeds will go toward protecting Mother Earth’s Innocent Ones. I wavered whether to mention this, because I hope you’ll want to experience this journey, revel in the beauty of Mother Earth and all Her inhabitants, and not just buy the book as a donation. That would defeat its purpose.

*   *   *

DyingWords followers — Please leave a comment to wish Sue Coletta well with continued success in her work. In my opinion, and knowing Sue for ten years, I say without hesitation she is an outstanding crime writer – fiction and non-fiction – in today’s market. And don’t hesitate to Look Inside Unnatural Mayhem.

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Unnatural Mayhem