Cynophobia

Rahul was lost in thoughts as he was home bound taking brisk strides. He was coming back from his friend’s place after they both finished combined studies for their board exams. He lived in Araku Valley, a hill station in the Vishakhapatnam District in Andhra Pradesh , where his father worked in State Tourism department. He loved Araku for the scenic beauty and pristine environment. All the more for his three good friends and together they were concentrating on their studies with the aim of getting high scores in the exams.

He realized that today he got late than usual and soon it would be dark, the place being located in the hills. The only drawback in places like this is, they are sparsely populated and there was fear from wild animals. This passing thought made him scared and set his pulse rate increased and he started to walk with quick long strides. He was short of breadth and panting when suddenly he sensed the presence of another living being, an animal? He stealthily glanced sideways and Lo! His heart almost missed a beat.

A huge dog seemed to be following him quietly. He could not identify its breed as he was least interest in dogs and in fact he was scared of dogs. It stopped as he stopped and when he resumed walking, the dog also started following him. Rahul’s heart beat and pulse rate increased as he started running, he was sweating profusely and tears were flowing out of his eyes. He ran without looking back and finally reached home. His legs were shivering an he entered into the gate of his house. He slowly turned back and looked around for the dog, in the safe environs of his house. To his astonishment he saw that the dog was looking menacingly at a wild animal, a fox or something else and at that moment Rahul realized that the dog was not chasing him. On the contrary it was trying to protect him from the wild animal! As the wild animal ran away, the Dog came closer to Rahul and gently nudged him and started licking him. To his surprise Rahul realized that his Cynophobia or the fear for dogs disappeared and he started hugging and petting the Dog. He realized that it is not possible to understand the selfless love of animals until we ourselves love them.

 As he slept in his cozy bed after a shower and dinner, he was glad that his father permitted him to keep the dog as pet and slowly slipped into sleep and a dream. In the dream he was choosing a name for his pet dog, planning to buy a collar and many more things. One incidence changed him from a Cynophobic to a Dog lover.