The Knitting Fiend

This is Munchkin, “The Global Climate Change Dog”.

I know; I know. You are wondering: How the heck did Munchkin become “The Global Climate Change Dog”? Why is he wearing a sweater? And most importantly, why is the sweater hunter orange?

Well, I’ll answer in reverse order.

Answer 1: The sweater is hunter orange because Munchkin wants to be sure the hunters in Oklahoma to know he’s not wild game.

Answer 2: Munchkin is wearing a sweater because I knit the sweater and mailed it to his home in Oklahoma.

Do I hear you saying you’d already guessed that much? You’re asking me why I knit it?

Well, besides being addicted to knitting, I knit the dog sweater because, last October, my husband Jim visited poor old Munchkin. During the visit, Jim noticed Munchkin was shivering. Munchkin is getting a bit old, and, despite the threat of global climate change, winter in Oklahoma is still cold. So, he needed a nice thick dog sweater.

Answer 3: Ok, so, why in the world is Munchkin “The Global Climate Change Dog”?!

Well, that’s a longer story. Several years ago, Munchkin, a very friendly dog, was wandering the nearly empty plains around Lemont, Oklahoma. He was unhappy, lonely and hungry when, in the distance, he spotted trailers. He could also hear people. Feeling hopeful (because he thinks people are really cool) and nervous (because his previous people had dumped him in a wheat field) he approached the trailers.

The strange new people turned out to be friendly technicians; the trailers turned out to be the central facility of the DOE ARM SGP.

Quite a series of acronyms, aint’ it? I’m not going to explain what they all mean except to say: The ARM program exists to collect data to permit scientists to test models used to predict the effects of carbon dioxide, aerosols and clouds on the earth’s climate. If you know anything about global climate change, you’ll recognize this research is done to learn more about global climate change. (Don’t let the inconspicuous trailer fool you. There really are a large number of high tech instruments scattered all over Kansas and Oklahoma. You can read more here: DOE ARM SGP. )

Anyway, getting back to why Munchkin is “The Global Climate Change Dog”: the friendly technicians gave Munchkin bits of sandwich; Munchkin stuck around. After a while, one of the technicians dug into his pocket, found some money and took Munchkin to the vet. Various other technicians brought dog food and dishes; they began to feed Munchkin regularly.

In short, Munchkin was adopted. The technicians pay for his food and his vet bills. He, in turn assists them by guarding the drafty trailer (which is why he needs the sweater) and greeting scientists (which is how he met my husband, Jim.)

Munchkin does his job guarding and greeting so well, he has earned the honorific “Global Climate Change Dog”. Now he has a “Global Climate Change Dog Sweater.” You will hear more about Munchkin and his sweater over the next month.