Every Picture Tells a Story.......

.....some just do it better than others!

I have to admit, yesterday's Wordless Wednesday was a bit weak. The photo was less than stellar as Wilson just would not cooperate and give me the pose I was looking for! Also, this was a case where a picture "needs" a thousand words, instead of a picture being worth a thousand words.

There really is a story behind Wilson posing by a storm drain. Way back in the fall of '03, when Wilson was still a young pup, I would take him for bedtime walks around the big block in my neighborhood. On the corner as you leave my little cul-de-sac, the family there had an outgoing gray cat named George. He was often left outside to wander. He'd see us coming and dart down into one of the storm drains. He really wasn't afraid of Wilson as his owners also had a big yellow lab that they also let wander (and poop) all over the neighborhood (....but that's another story!). So George would enter the storm drain and next thing I'd know, I would spot him up the street ahead of us. He had used the sewer piping as his own private little metro system. So one night we are doing our usual circuit, trotting along, minding our own business, when George flies up out of the drain we had just passed and attacks Wilson! Claws out and accompanied by loud hissing, he hit from behind. I guess this was the cat-equivalent of shooting someone in the back. Needless to say, this scared the everliving crap out of mild-mannered Wilson. It got my heart rate on the moon as well! It was a hit and run attack, and before I could react, George was back down the storm drain and gone. I am sure he was very pleased with himself for finally telling this canine newcomer to his neighborhood the way it was going to be. Wilson is a very sensitive boy. He takes things to heart, and this unprovoked attack scared and scarred him badly. The next time we walked around the block, he gave each and every storm drain the hairy-eyeball and a wide berth, and there are ALOT of drains on my block. It developed into a bit of an obsession for him. Every drain needed an inspection to ensure that George was not lurking below. And he certainly could not get up onto the sidewalk by stepping over a drain! The sewer monster would get him for sure! George has since moved away, but Wilson's behavior has continued all these years. When Jimmy came along and had no knowledge of sewer monsters and thus no fear of drains, it did seem to ease Wilson's phobia a bit. As a result, I could not get the exact "Wary Wilson" photo I was looking for. Usually he pokes his head all the way into the crack for a good long look and sniff.



While not George, this gives you the general idea. Oh! The horror!