Doggy Lover Anonymous

Sometimes when I reach home late - round 11pm, I bump into her on the pavement just outside the compound. And every encounter leaves a mixed taste in my mouth.

She's probably in her late 30's, shorter than I am, and has a stocky figure. You can tell she's from the Far East from her face, her accent and from her short, very silky, very black, very straight hair. The one thing that strikes me, though, is her energy.

She almost always has a roll of bread and a bag of milk with her. And a whole pack of stray dogs. She probably feeds them every night. On the occasions that I have encountered her, I have watched her out of the corner of my eyes... she goes about her task with a vengeance, explaining to any who happen to cast curious glances in her direction: She has to feed the stray dogs. They're friendly dogs. You can't possibly be afraid of them. That's equivalent to crime!

The bitterness in her voice is stinging. If humans bark and bite at each other, and we're not afraid of them, then why are we afraid of dogs? They're innocent members of society - don't mean no one no harm. She used to be afraid of dogs once upon a time, but that was before she found that humans are worse than them.

I almost vince at her cynic comments. She isn't really a dog-lover, is she? That's just a symptom of a bad disease - hating humans. And hating is as addictive as drinking.

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