Dog's day

Our family ( you must read it as” the whole lot of them” i.e. Sisters, brothers, cousins, aunts, uncles et al) is extremely scared of dogs especially the stray ones of all age, shape and sizes. (Pups are more dangerous says my sister)

You may ask ‘what about the pets?’ You can feel little safe with them as they are either tied or told to get inside (they seldom do) when you enter the canine lovers’ house.

I had a friend who insisted that I come home very often though I had expressed my fear of dogs. She used to tell me that her dog is very loving and will never harm anyone. whenever I went to her house I would be sitting with my heart pounding and the canine would cuddle, lick and pounce on me while her master (rather her masterni) went on and on about her pet.

My friend’s dog keeps on breathing heavily (called as deep breathing) in your ears making you very insecure of what is in store for you.

My neighbour had a pup which was named ‘shyam’ which coincidentally is my brother’s name. Whenever she called out to the pet lovingly with her sweet voice, my brother used to run. She told us that she never knew shyams were human.

Another friend of mine, who was a little concerned about me, had her bull dog always tied up. Even this never encouraged me to change my opinion of these creatures. You should not blame me for that. Whenever I visited her, the bull.. sorry, the dog always tried to pull away the chain and made all sorts of faces and would have settled scores with me for my dislike of the species.

The other day my sister and I were taking a long walk (it was indeed a long walk) and a pup started following us. My sis was very much worried and wanted to get rid of it. As she started walking very fast, the pup too increased its speed. In desperation she opened the gate of a nearby house and entered. No sooner did she do that; we heard a thunderous barking (it was a Pomeranian). Frying Pan to fire? Never. The gate was closed immediately. Pup is always better than the pom.

There is a saying that ‘Barking Dog seldom bites’. Yes it is true. How can the dog bite when it is barking? It will do so once it stops barking. Ask my cousin. He has not stopped telling his tale to one and all after being bitten by a barking dog. He grumbles that the sentence should be rephrased as ‘barking dog later bites’.

Some good Samaritans feed the strays with delicious wafers, biscuits, buns etc and it becomes very difficult for non feeders to go for walks/jogs as you will be treated as an outcast by the strays. Some of them come close to you and smell your pockets for the non existent goodies.

I had been told by good (?) friends that if you have eye to eye contact with the dog you are safe; as the dog thinks you are friendly. But there is more than the meets the eye.
I had shared this secret with my uncle and he had a horrifying experience after he followed my tips. He was scratched upon by a stray when he looked deep into his eyes.
Now some say that you should avoid the canine’s gaze and walk away as though it never exists. This has worked out for me sometimes.

You have to be very alert during ‘season’ as you can spot tens, twenties and more of the breed shouting, chasing, fighting among them and in the bargain falling all over you. I always take longer routes when I spot the batch from far.

More than humans, these species are united. Once rag picker was shouted at by a lone dog. He was unperturbed. The dog started barking so loud that his friends from the neighboring roads reached the spot within minutes and pounced on the rag picker. Poor fellow had to run for his life.

From my experience, I have zeroed in on the following precautionary measures.

Avoid eye to eye contact. ( more so if you are wearing a colored lens)
Always have some small stones with you ( you may pretend to throw)
Avoid lanes which have Bakeries
Be well acquainted with your local strays. ( You must know the character of each one of them)
Don’t travel in your two wheeler during nights ( some time days too)
Be very open with your friends ( especially the ones with pets) about your fear of dogs