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It's a dog's world

It's been a long time since I wrote and I have been meaning to write for quite some time now. But the million dollar question was what do I write about?!! So after much contemplation and a whole box of cookies I decided to write about dogs, yes you heard it right "DOGS" or rather dogs at work. Now most of your might be wondering whether I'm referring to my co-workers or even better myself, but let me assure you I am talking about the four legged fur balls often called man's best friend. It so happens that my past-employer has a dog friendly workplace and employees are encouraged to bring their pet pooches to work. Well I did know that this was the case and I was even asked by one of my interviewers whether I was allergic to dogs. Well, luckily I wasn't but I was afraid to disclose that I had a mortal fear of dogs owing to a not so pleasant experience in my childhood! I probably was about 8-9 years old when I was chased by one of those community dogs (again, I'm not referring to my neighbors but those dogs which no one owns but certainly have a collar around their neck). I'm proud to say that I won that race! I ran like no one has run before, Forrest Gump and Usain would have been proud of me that day.

It has always amused me to see dogs come into meetings walk in with their owners to the common area, walk to people's cubes and there they are curled up under the desk lost in their doggy thoughts. While some dogs are friendly others keep to themselves and there are yet another category of dogs which remind me of my childhood run! Every once in a while a dog walks into my office and nonchalantly sniffs around and expects to be given a doggy treat. In the beginning it would evoke an array of emotions. Fear being the predominant followed by awe and finally anger. Fear can be traced back to the childhood incident, while anger because my coworkers were being inconsiderate in assuming everyone likes dogs! But most importantly I was in awe of the friendly nature of these dogs, unconditional enthusiasm and love for everyone. Over time my fear subsided, my anger melted and while I still didn't stock doggie treats, I did pet them. I no longer work for that employer but I did learn to like dogs.







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