I have a dog and I love him to death. His name is Wawa.
The only reason that I got him at the first place was because he was tiny. When we met him the first time, he was a one-month old puppy, as big as my palm. I fell in love with him immediately and took him home with us on that day. He is 8 year old now but he is still a sucky little puppy in our eyes. 🐶
Hmmmm… I know what you are thinking, but no, I’m not a dog person.
As a matter of fact, I’m quite afraid of dogs, any type, big or small, white or black, especially when they are off leash.
This morning, on a peaceful, quiet and sunny Saturday, Wawa and I were having a nice stroll in our neighbourhood. I turned around, all of a sudden, oh my gosh, there was this HUGE dog with brown & white pattens sniffing around wawa and getting very close to me too. His tongue was out and his tail was up.
I quickly looked around. No humans around, no leash around the neck of the dog.
Panic attack!
I quickly shortened Wawa’s leash. We started to run, having our tails between the legs.
Oh no, that huge dog was chasing after us. What should I do?! What should I do?!
Thank goodness, there was an 80 year old man trimming his bushes around the corner. Off we ran, and we almost ran into the 5 feel tall bushes! I cried out to the man:”can you please help me to get rid of that big dog?” The gentleman felt puzzled and confused, but waved that dog away anyway.
I, in the meanwhile, could feel my heart jumping out of my throat. I thanked the gentleman and took wawa home, completely traumatized. 🙈
After that eventful morning walk and some nerve-calming housework, I sat down at our bar table in the kitchen for a delightful lunch break with my husband. As we appreciated our beautiful garden view, I spotted a dog passing by, alone!!! Not a big dog, and looked very cute from far.
Something hit my head and heart right away. Aha, that must be the same dog that was chasing after wawa and me this morning. He was lost and therefore was wondering around and looking for help. I, instead, thought he wanted to attack my dog and me.
Hubby run out and brought the dog back in 5 minutes. His name is Ginger and he is a Terrier. He is very kind and gentle, and not big at all! He has his dog tag around the neck. So we called his owner and it didn’t take long for him to show up on our driveway to claim his dog! It’s a story with a happy ending!! 🙉
Moral of the story: it’s all about perspective!!
– When I was unexpectedly exposed to a strange dog that was off the leash, I felt threatened and scared (Wawa didn’t help much because he never grows into a real dog, hehe). That dog looked bigger than life because of my own fear and pre-assumption that the dog would attack us.
– When I was in my comfort home, the same dog looked vulnerable and cute even though he was still off the leash and wondering around. That was because I was in a safe environment and was able to show my compassion and sympathy.
Same dog, different dog.
If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at CHANGE. 
BOLD ELEGANCE 