To many of us dogs are really some pretty species. Surely they must have been the first among all domesticated animals. Of course that was before cats came to the scene I think. I too love dogs, but only in those still pictures on the wall. I also loved them in dog shows. Yes, that too, as you guessed it right, on TV; on celluloid they look larger than life. Oh Boy, but seeing them in real life on the roadside was a daunting experience; they looked like ‘across the border terrorists’ let loose in public places!

To tell you a fact, I hardly venture to pass a stray dog (street dogs, not the terrorist kind) without raising his or her antennae like ears; they always sensed my atavistic fear. That was despite I knew dogs are normally harmless darlings unless and until provoked. Somehow I couldn’t stop my adrenaline shooting up. My first reaction would be to let out a hail of weirdest insults, under my breath. Don’t ask me what they were; I am sure they were never printed anywhere. Then my limbs first get wobbly and then heavy. Slowly I will look for some alternate routes to reach my destination, away from the dog’s line of vision.(the alternative is going back to where I started from). It is like VVIPs visits escorted through by- lanes when protesters are anticipated ahead or taken back to the plane, or whatever.

The reason for my inexplicable fear lies in an incident happened back in childhood (like they explain in the filmy scripts in flashbacks). Well, one day, I was walking to school. I passed by a litter of just born puppies. From nowhere, the mother dog chased me all the way to my school. My classmates made fun of me for the entire year. No doubt, the fear stayed with me. Well. Some advised I raise a pet dog to reverse my impulse of getting instant fear. Pity, I always lived in apartments and the neighbors generally maintained their bias against pets. I wonder why the middle class shun dogs, when the rich and the poor cultivate dogs fondly.

All said and done, humans are the poor masters of pets. Here, I recount a story; see most of our bosses are like that (you can also count me): At a butcher’s shop a man watched a dog buying meat. The creature not only checked on the weight of the meat but also took the change in his mouth. Surprised, the onlooker followed the dog to the owner’s house. He could not for a moment believe when the dog was on the hind legs and rang the doorbell. The master came out, took the meat and kicked the dog very hard on his hind. Our man asked the owner, "How come you kick such a nice dog` The owner replied ‘See, he forgot keys for the third time’.

Whenever afraid (after ‘sighting’ a dog), I quietly walk away (vanish) from the scene. That would be toward a random direction, before anyone notices my fear (excepting the dog of course). It was a shame I missed many a bus that is speaking about my losing countless appointments, interviews and even dates, all because of those four legged terrorists dogs. I don’t venture walking into gullies unless I am in a big car. Poorer villages are shunned like Americans stop visiting terrorist prone countries (‘third world’ countries, I don’t know why) in the recent times.

In due course of time I have learnt a trick or two how I should get rid of my fear of dogs. The secrete lies in taking two or three deep breaths, and releasing the same in the general direction of the dog in question in a very slow motion. Hope it works out also to those who suffered like me.

By the way, I have just finished my morning walk I avoided doggedly since my encounter with that mother dog.