Canine nightmare

Yesterday, YK told me about a new reality show which totally grossed me out. In it, the celebrities were made to eat a rat's tail, iguana's tail, blended pig's stomach, boiled tripe, tarantula, scorpions and alot of other gross things to compete against each other.

Then he went on to describe very graphically how he had seen tripe being removed from a butchered cow on Youtube. We both agreed that working in an abbatoir must be the worst job ever and how we would never ever eat tripe.

It was no surprise that I had a nightmare last night. I was working in an abbatoir and the animal I had to slaughter was my little Rusty. Maybe I was playing with him on my bed before I fell asleep but why in heaven's name would I ever think of harming my dog? But in my dream, I sliced Rusty up and laid him flat on the steel table like a bear rug, wondering why people would eat cute little dogs like him.

I woke up very early this morning, feeling so guilty about the nightmare. I was especially hungry too, so I had breakfast at 5.30am. An hour later, I brought Rusty down for his walk.

As usual, we saw this lady with her two white maltese or shitzus (I can never tell them apart) running freely in the field. The more aggressive one charged forward to bark at Rusty. It makes a really annoying high-pitched bark which made Rusty growl.

For a jack russell, Rusty is a mild mannered dog who usually ignores other dogs unless provoked. To avoid any confrontation, I picked Rusty up in my arms immediately. As I turned to walk away, that dog sank its sharp tiny teeth into my right leg. Despite its small size, it was a painful bite. I shouted "Your dog bit me!".

The owner nonchalantly summoned her dog back and gave it a little spank. She did not even come forward to apologise or ask if I was hurt. I rolled up my pants and found punctured skin and some blue-black marks on the area.

I could have kicked a fuss but I decided to let the matter rest. The least she can do is to leash up her dogs up in future or I will complain to the authorities.

I used to think that dog owners are compassionate or nice people but I'm surprised to come across many sulky owners who pull a long face when our dogs check each other out. Their attitude makes me feel awkward.

Today's incident makes me think twice about bringing Rusty to the same area in future. I certainly don't wish to meet the dogs or the owner again.