In Keith’s words.
“Using this photo (below)as inspiration, write a short story, flash fiction, scene, poem; anything, really; even just a caption for the photograph. Either put it (or a link to it) in a comment or email it to me at keithchanning@gmail.com before 6pm next Sunday (if you aren’t sure what the time is where I live, this link will tell you). If you post it on your own blog or site, a link to this page would be appreciated, but please do also mention it in a comment here.
Go on. You know you want to. Let your creativity and imagination soar. I shall display the entries next Monday.”
The photo.
The Story by John W. Howell ©2020
“You want to tell me what happened?”
“You would never believe it.”
“Oh, come on.”
“No, you would immediately think it was my fault.”
“Well, that’s not a nice thing to say.”
“But you always take the other side.”
“Only when I think you’re wrong.”
“Which is most of the time.”
“Okay. I promise I’ll hear you out and keep my opinions to myself.”
“Well, if you promise.”
“I do.”
“There I was. Standing on the corner minding my own business.”
“Your stories all start out the same.”
“You asked. Should I continue?”
“Sorry. Go ahead.”
“As I said, I was minding my business when this big bus turned the corner.”
“You didn’t chase the bus, did you?”
“You going to wait or not?”
“Sorry again. Please proceed.”
“On the bus was this picture of a beautiful dog. It was running its heart out.”
“Okay. That would be a Greyhound bus.”
“The dog looked at me, and in an instant, I knew what I had to do.”
“The dog looked at you?”
“I took off and kept stride for stride. I kept asking the dog if it needed help.”
“No response.”
“How did you know?”
“Lucky guess.”
“We came to a corner, and the bus stopped.”
“When are we going to get to the paw?”
“The doors opened, so I started to get on.”
“Someone kicked your paw?”
“No, the doors slammed shut on it. Seems they didn’t want a dog on there even though they had one captive on the side.”
“Doesn’t seem like that would do too much damage.”
“Then the bus started moving with my paw in the door. That’s when I knew I had to yank it free.”
“Which caused the hurt.”
“No. The rear tire hitting it caused the hurt.”
“I see.”
“That’s it? Just I see. No critical comments.”
“I think anything I say would just add insult to injury.”
“So you think it is my fault that I got injured trying to help a poor dog in distress?”
“No. That’s not what I think.”
“What then?”
“That you’re an idiot.”
“You were going to keep your opinion to yourself.”
“I lied.”
Fiction Favorites 
At least the dog’s heart was in the right place.
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I think so too.
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LOL 😂
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Thank you, Chris.
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I think poor doggie needs to find a more sympathetic ear.
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Pretty tough ear at that. Thanks, Liz.
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You’re welcome, John.
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Aww…poor thing. Look at those sad eyes. Bad owner!
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I know right? *slap. Thanks, Jill.
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Aww, poor pooch.
I could see that happening. I’m with you on this one. Who’s a good writer, who’s a good writer? Yeah, good job, John.
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Pant, pant. Wag, wag, wag. Thanks, Dan. DoI get a treat now? 😁
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Of course!
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ARF
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Awww… all he was trying to do was save a fellow pup. Heart was in the right place, even if his perception is a little off 😉
Fun, as always!
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Thank you, Dale. Poor puppy. 😊
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No kidding!
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Fault or no fault, who could resist those big beautiful eyes. Great dialogue and story, John. One of your best! 🙂
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Aw. Thank you, Gwen. 😁
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Another good one, John.
I was thinking poor guy tried to take a bone away from a female – “When she says ‘No’, she Means ‘NO’!”
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Hahahaha. Good one. 😁
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Poor puppy. Look at those eyes. Glad it was only the paw that got hurt. You don´t want to tangle with a bus. A great story!
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Thank you, Darlene. 😊
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Well I think this pup has seen the error in its ways! What a remorseful face 🙂
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I know right?
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Poor pupper. The commentary had me laughing, though.
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I hope you got a laugh. No way to fix the situation so a made up story is all we have. Thank you, Staci. 😁
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Such a sad puppy. He was trying to be a hero but became a victim of urban traffic congestion. It’s too bad the bus driver didn’t mistake him for a service animal.
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Yes, for sure on the service animal. Thank you, Molly Shea
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Poor baby. Great story to go with it.
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Thank you. He does need a friend.
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As one dog said to the other – don’t feel so bad. my paw did that once. It must be a family tradition.
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That is a nice soothing response, John
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That face! I just want to hug him.
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Me too.
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That is quite a tale to explain the injured paw, John. Great job! The poor dog needs a hug and a bone!
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I know right?
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Aw, this pup needs some hugs! The expression on its face is soulful, and my hand hurts just looking at that bandaged paw.
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I know. That person talking to him was not very kind either.
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Who could NOT LOVE that beautiful face?
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I know. Such a wonderful face.
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You know it’s going to be an interesting story when someone starts with “I was standing on the corner, minding my own business when…”
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Hahaha. Thanks, Jessica.
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Poor pup!
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Poor old Flash. You don’t want to know what the bandage was really for!
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No I don’t. I got a hint in your version and need to be kept in the dark. 😢
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That might have been something of an exaggeration, John. It was more like the quick of one nail, trimmed before visiting the vet. Mind you, if you’d seen the state of Hobie, where the two were laying together in the back of the car, you’d have thought there’d been a murder!
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Whew. Thanks for getting another image out of my head. We had that quick thing one time as well. Taught us to let the pros do it.😁
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We apologised profusely to the vet, but she just shrugged (being a young French woman it was a textbook gallic shrug) and said that they do it all the time – then carried on examining the boys and giving them their jabs.
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😁
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Aw, poor baby! Great story, John. It coulda really happened like that! Baby Girl’s Border Collie loves trying to herd them when they’re in their side by side and cars! It scares me because I fear one day he’s going to get his paw run over! When I take him for walks I can’t go all the way to the end of their road because his ears perk up and he gets excited when he hears a passing car.
He looks up at me asking, “can we go chase that car, can we, huh, huh, huh”? My answer is always NO! 🤣
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Twiggy is like that. She would run right up to a car or truck and try to take it down. We can’t let that happen. Thanks, Deborah.
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😀
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Awww, poor guy, getting injured while trying to perform a good deed, John.
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I know. The writer should be horse whipped for the lack of empathy. 😂
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Greyhound bus and love…only a clever writer could come up with that. Well done, John.
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Thank you, Jennie. 😊
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You’re welcome, John.
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[…] The Story by John W. Howell © 2020 […]
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fun read 😂 + feels very close to reality… and I have to say, you are probably can read the mind of the dogs 🙂 – perfect conversation 👍😀
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Thank you, VR. So good to her from you. 😁
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📚😀 thx, finally freee & ready for Xmas/New Year Celebration 🎊
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Wonderful. 🎄
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Thanks for the laugh, John. 🙂
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Always ready to serve. Thanks, Mark.
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