Aztexican Troopers in the California Imperial Guard

First off, let me introduce the temporary guest to ViscountEric's Kriget Rum. 

Faithful readers may remember my wife volunteers for a Pit Bull Rescue charity and has made my fat butt run a 5K in support of it.  Clarkie here has a big tale of woe.  He was probably a bait dog for some dog fighting ring, where he became blind in one eye,  until he got loose and was found wandering the streets of Philly.  The last foster home for him caught fire and he was the last animal rescued, so he suffered some pretty nasty burns and required a number of stitches.  We're hosting him for what I hope is a short time frame until another foster home or a permanent home can be found. 

The communication coming from the other sources about this guy was mixed.  He didn't like other dogs, might not be good for kids, full of anxiety.   Now I don't know much about dogs, but Clarkie immediately snuggled up against my 3-year old daughter Millie,  coexisted happily with my other two dogs when to got the basement door open, and the only time I heard him growl was when he was half asleep in the basement and I tried to go up the stairs, and that was more of a "Hey, where are you going?"  noise, than a hostile one.

For a dog who's been through the mill more times than a 30-year steel worker, I almost want to trade my other two high strung ones to this guy. 

His future is not written in stone yet, so any interest, inquiries, or donations should be directed to www.apostivepromisepitbullrescue.org .  Please use the email or "contact us" options, as I know we had issues with the phone number listed. 

(Edit: Actually, we do have someone lined up to foster him long-term, possibly more.  They're getting their house in order, so it should be 10-17 days with this fella.)

Anyway, this guy kept me company, and vice versa, while I got some painting done.   Slowly but surely, parts of the California Imperial Guard are getting finished.  Today, I present the Hispanic (Aztexican) portion of the guard, along with the unit's white officer and NCO.

As I wrote in my history of the Imperial Republic of California, the Imperial Guard is one of the most diverse military organizations in the world.   With numerous ethnic groups flocking to California, Native Americans always living there, and a need to defend the borders against numerous threats, Emperor Norton I established mixed units early on to conquer challenges that crippled the flailing California Republic.  While the vast majority of officers and NCOs are still "American," it is not unusual to see other ethnicities hold leadership positions. 

I still have about five "surfer dude" Guardsmen to paint, one Indian scout, and the flag bearer and drummer to finish in this batch, but tonight's quiet time with Clarkie may alternate between them, some LOS nightmares, and cleaning out a few boxes in the garage.