Wilson

WILSON (1999 - 2007) - Dog. Rightly or wrongly, I inherited from my Grandpa Sneddon a distrust of men whose behaviour might be described as 'winsome' or, as he put it, 'cutesy-wootsie'. He nursed a particular loathing for Winnie the Pooh author, A.A. Milne, referring to him as 'sordid' and 'degenerate'. On one occasion, holidaying in the south of England, he sought out the antique shop run by Milne's son, the original Christopher Robin, in order to express his sympathy on account of the intolerable burden placed upon him by his father. The pair subsequently exchanged Christmas cards for years and Milne sent my parents a letter of sympathy when my grandfather died.

My grandfather, I suspect, would have strongly disapproved of the website apparently maintained by Ross McAteer's black labrador, Wilson. In this, Wilson keeps his many enthralled readers updated on his activities and opinions. Visitors can view a gallery of pictures of Wilson wearing a variety of hats and listen to some of his favourite records, the titles of which all contain some canine reference. "Hi, there Wilson!" say his visitors, mainly other dogs with sites of their own. "Looking a bit ruff today! Why don't you come and have a look at my woof-tastic site! I've just uploaded some pictures of my human's birthday party!!"

Anyone interested in the human capacity for simpering witlessness would be amply rewarded by a visit to Wilson's site. While I certainly wouldn't try to tell Ross, who is, incidentally, thirty-one years old, how to spend his free time, I think that he might consider his priorities. My exasperation on account of his neglect of the first Hamilton Coe site (attributed to nervous exhaustion) was, exacerbated by the development of Wilson's within the same timescale.

Since writing this entry, I'm saddened to report that Wilson has been killed while chasing an ice cream van. While I've considered removing the entry, its account of a regrettable modern phenomenon, I think, makes it of interest to any student of human transgression. Any feelings of irritation I might have engendered toward Ross have long since passed. He has my sympathy.