I get affected when my adult kids go through important events in their lives. Be it change in career path, studies, and mostly, relationships. When my son told me he is in a new relationship, I was overjoyed for him and his lovely lady. She’s bubbly, helpful, smart, and a certified dog lover. I could imagine her visiting our home with her ‘babies’ on leash.

Uh oh, that smells trouble! Coz I have the ultimate fear of dogs. I was so scared that I would cross to the other side of the road just to avoid people walking their dogs. I would turn down friends’ invitations if I knew they have dogs. And I’d never allow dogs inside my house. But you could guess – that last one was overruled!

And so we had a silent house rule. When the dogs are around, I’d lock myself in our bedroom. If I need to come out, they would lock the dogs. That actually worked well. Until one morning, I woke up very thirsty and went to the kitchen to grab something to drink. When I closed the fridge door, I almost dropped my glass when I saw this white fluffy creature in front of me. And so I screamed, “take this dog away from me”! But no one heard me. I stood still while staring at him on what seemed to be the longest minute of my life. He was staring at me too – firm but confused. As I kept calling for help, he slowly moved back away from me, but still staring! Until finally, someone rescued me and picked him up.

I’ll never ever forget that day. I felt so sorry for the way I treated him, for thinking he was trouble. For seeing every single dog like an enemy, no matter how gentle or fierce they look. I felt bad for being unfair and cold to these warm creatures aptly called ‘man’s best friend’.  I’ve never called any dog by its name.

But at that moment, I knew I had a change of heart. I felt like my heart expanded and suddenly had the capacity to love dogs, I never knew I had.

Some of the best relationships are formed when you least expect them. That same day, I gained two faithful, huggable friends. They were the first dogs I’ve ever touched. And definitely the ones I first loved. A relationship I didn’t expect ever happening in my lifetime. Changes I didn’t see coming – like sneaking through the pets’ treat section in the supermarket. And looking forward to weekends when they would arrive wagging their tails and jumping on me, and cuddling in my own bed.

Thank you, Sky and Pochi. Because of you two, I’ll never look at dogs the same way again. You’ve changed my heart. You’ve changed me.
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