your talking dog/thanatoid/pynchon family semi-reference of the w eek

[Burns, Erik]

Book Review from Winnepeg Free Press mentions a W.H.C. Pynchon, geologist,
and his regular run-ins with a "death dog."
 
make of it what you will. book itself is here: www.tinyurl.com/36scc
<http://www.tinyurl.com/36scc> 
see also: www.curbstone.org/index.cfm?webpage=107
<http://www.curbstone.org/index.cfm?webpage=107> 
and a google search for WHC Pynchon turns up numerous variations of the same
tale.
 
etb
 
(Review by Al Besson, but not online unless you subscribe to WFP...) 
 
....He was only a playful, friendly pup (possibly a terrier or a spaniel).
At least that was the impression the first time anyone caught a glimpse of
this willing hiking companion.

But legend has it that this pup, the "Doom Dog of the Hanging Hills," was
either sent to warn travellers of the danger or, as some say, "to lure them
to their deaths."

The Hanging Hills rise 1,000 feet above sea level over Meriden, Conn., and
they avail hikers many panoramic views of lush forests, as well as drawing
geologists from all over the world to study the strange rock formations.

This story is of one such geologist from New York named W.H.C. Pynchon, who
actually kept records of his trips and meetings with the death dog.

On his first trip to the hills, while guiding his small horse-drawn wagon
down the road, he noticed a dark little dog, which scampered down the
boulders to greet him. The dog, strangely silent, trotted along beside the
wagon.

A few years later, Pynchon returned with a friend and fellow geologist. 

After a rigorous climb, the two men spotted the same small black dog, which
wagged its tail and barked at them, silently as ever. The pair rushed to
meet the pup when Pynchon's partner lost his footing and tumbled to his
death.

As the legend goes, the dog meets the traveller three times. "Once for joy.
Twice for sorrow and thrice for death." 

On Pynchon's third trip to the area, the locals had come to know him and
were fond of him. 

Knowing of the legend, they begged him not to head into the hills a third
time. 

Pynchon ignored their warnings and unfortunately he never made a third entry
in his diary. What really happened may never be known for sure. Perhaps the
locals could fill in the blanks.