Hold your pet please..!

Me and my two year old went for an evening walk today. We live in the city outskirts and the houses are sparse here. The road is mostly empty with occasional scooters or cars passing by. It was quarter past five, and we were leisurely walking- watching birds, clouds, eucalyptus and guava trees drenched in the last rays of the evening sun. Weather was pleasant and the occasional chirping of birds made the silence even more beautiful.

Suddenly, as if out of nowhere a big dog came howling towards us, he had a loose chain tied on his neck and had shining brown hair. He was by all means a well fed and giant dog. I panicked and took my baby in my arms and stood still there on the road. There was not a single soul to be seen nearby who could have come for our rescue. The dog came near me and started to smell my toes, and then started moving around me. He was wagging his tail. Though I knew these were friendly gestures, I was too scared to move.

I was thinking about what to do when I saw Mrs Sharma, who lives across the road came running towards us. She was dressed smartly in a trek suit and had a small stick in her hand. As she came near she saw my expression and sensed that I was scared. She did not look embarrassed at all, instead said with a wide grin, ‘don’t worry, he doesn’t bite.’

I wanted to say, ‘dear lady, it is not necessary for a dog to ‘bite’ in order to scare someone.’

But said instead, with a forced smile, ‘Oh really! Such a nice dog.’

She gave me a few details about the dog and then they both went happily their way.

Thankfully she was holding his chain this time!

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