Friday, April 04, 2008

Of Dogs and Humanity

Hopelessly lost. Again. I’m directionally-challenged, so don’t ask me what I was doing hanging around my college’s H block when I was supposed to be all the way across the campus, at the college hall.

Well, I’m glad I took the detour anyway, because I met a couple of really sweet stray dogs along the way. You can meet all sorts of living creatures in my college, ranging from those pesky little blood-suckers to monkeys (As a side-note, I haven’t seen those monkeys recently. O_o I wonder what became of them.)

I gave one of my trademark whines, the ones that often get innocent dogs into trouble when their owners nearby assume their pets are making gratuitous noises. It’s an attention-seeking whine, a “Hey, wanna play with me?” signal.

This lovely white and brown dog approached me and gently nipped at my hand, then clamped its jaws around my skirt, tugging playfully. Consequently, I earned a couple of weird eyeballs and a few spectators.

“Hey, no,” I voiced, smiling good-naturedly at the dog. It obediently released my skirt, looking up at me with those infamous, heart-melting puppy-dog eyes.

Resuming my journey to the Hall of Doom aka Exam Hall, I started thinking about the poor dog and how the general public – the ones that don’t understand dogs – would think.
Sure, I understand that it was merely a friendly gesture – but others may not think the same way. Many would strike out in fear, in an attempt to prevent the dog from “biting” them. Don’t get me wrong, I would never blame anyone for trying to defend themselves against attacks from predators.

Nevertheless, defending is one thing, attacking is another. A warning smack or two on the head, a soft kick, a gentle push – and the dog will certainly get the message. I do not condone the abuse of those sweet little creatures (Unless they’re rabid, then by all means, take a gun and shoot them. O_o ). It’s inhuman and cruel. After all, dogs have the intelligence of a seven year old, and they’d certainly comprehend if you admonished them appropriately.

Regrettably, the deterioration of morality is rampant within the current society. I have seen people fling knives at dogs, causing the poor canine to have a knife embedded firmly into its back. I have seen individuals throwing boiling water at them, consequently leaving the poor dogs with no fur and a painfully red skin.

Just recently, there was this plump and friendly puppy that I’d fallen in love with. It was the brightest and sweetest thing I’d ever seen apart from Shadow. The aforementioned puppy disappeared though, and I found a undernourished version of it lying by the gutter a few days later, all but dead.

It had been raining and there were pools of water in its ears. The poor thing was so weak it could barely move. My mother and I tried our very best to nurse it back to heath, but the puppy could barely swallow the milk we gave it. It died a couple of hours later, taking with it a piece of our hearts.

My guess is that one of the fiends out there that claim to be human had kicked it and ruptured its intestines or something. I will personally track down any animal-abuser out there and give it (Yes, IT, for said abusers do not have hearts or brains, therefore they are not fit to be consider homo-sapiens with gender differences.) my trademark double-penguin-kick. I just hope I happen to be wearing my boots (or good heels, at least) when I meet them.

Humanity, or the lack of it, thereof, is saddening.

Paradox

A far-fetched dream,

Dissolving into the emptiness of reality.


A trickling, flowing stream,

Softening into the chamber of thought.


An icy-cold rain,

Melting into the solidity of warmth.


A heart-sharpened pain,

Liquefying into the medicines of time.


A silently whispered name,

Blending into the divinity of vibrations.


A temperamental, fiery flame,

Diffusing into the tenderness of darkness.