Bhow.

This is going to be a rant. It's addressed to dog owners and wannabe dog owners.

I am not fond of dogs. Or animals in general, to be honest. Keep your judgements and outrage and pity to yourself, thank you very much.

Are you thinking why I don't like dogs? Because no one taught me to love them when I was a kid. And no, my parents did not fail as parents because they didn't teach me to hate them, either.
What happened after I grew up? I learned that they are animals. They can think for themselves, move for themselves. I have a hard time having faith in people other than myself, forget something from a different species altogether. What do you think was the reason Dumbledore thought making Nagini a horcrux was a mistake?

My best friend, who is like a sister, has a dog. A labrador called Blaze. And he is adorable. I saw him a day after she got him. He was a pup. He'd fit into my arms. And all he'd do all day was sleep. The next time I saw him, he was bigger. And he was big. I was supposed to stay over at her place but I refused to sit down because he could now climb on the furniture. I had my dinner standing. I somehow convinced myself that he wouldn't kill me, and that's how I could sleep that night. This is from a couple of years ago. Now when I go to her place I'm much more relaxed, comfortable even, around him. And him around me, I suppose. I let him sleep on my lap, drool on me, jump on me, hell I even let him lick my face. His hair all over the house and his smell bother me less and less with every visit. The last time I was there, he barked in protest when I was leaving. I understood why everybody goes crazy over dogs. But that's that.
He is literally the only dog out of so many others that I know, whom I have genuinely grown to love.
I have gone mushy over puppies. I have fed puppies food from my tiffin box. And I have gawked as I passed by a german shepherd or a husky.

This does not change the fact that I'm still scared shitless if I see a pet dog without his master. Or a stray. Or dogs barking at each other while looking at me even when they are not looking at me. Or dogs fighting.
No matter how hard you try to assure me that your dog won't do anything more than sniff around a little, and maybe lick my feet, I will not believe you. Read that line again. And again. And understand. My fear of dogs doesn't need to be linked to a traumatising event in the past, as TV shows and movies will tell you. I was not attacked by a dog when I was a child. I did not see a dog biting someone else. And that does not invalidate my fear or my anxiety.

If you can trust dogs, cheers to you. I'm happy you can. But if you laugh at me, or make fun of me, or use my fear against me, or try to tell me I'm stupid, I will fucking hurt you. I am not required to like your pet or trust it, and you better understand that. I will give zero fucks about your dog and turn vicious if I get the slightest feeling of threat from him. Does that scare you? Enrage you? Make you think of me as a horrible, horrible person? Fine. I just thought you should know the other side.

PS I LOVE cats. They're (mostly) chill. And they have OCD for cleanliness. And they don't give me shit if they don't like me. So we're good.