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It was like this: I lived in Karachi with my family for one and a half years. At first, we lived in a very nice place , which we had to leave after a while and then moved to a different house. The previous owner had left two huge fighting dogs chained in the front yard. My parents didn't know what to do with them, and had to keep them there for a few weeks. It was probably just one or two weeks really, but it seems like an eternity in my memory. These beasts were aggressive and would always run to attack me whenever I passed by them. The only thing between them and me was a thin fence. In my memory, they appear pretty much like this:

Odin_and_Fenris.jpg


For years, I was shit-scared of dogs, even little poodles or things that couldn't bite me in the little finger. I'm not afraid of them anymore, but I loathe them now. Living in a place for twelve years that would have up to five dogs barking at you simultaneously when you passed by their houses certainly didn't help. I can tolerate them if they don't bark, but I don't like having them around me very much. I've gotten used to dog owners thinking of me as a terrible person. One belittled my contempt because she thought they were silly childhood memories, and another one told me I'll die alone if I keep it up. So most of the time if somebody asks me about dogs, I'll just shrug it off and say "I'm more of a cat person" (which is true). Then they'll say their dog is more like a cat anyway. Whatever, I can't win.
 
I know what you mean.
I don't like dogs myself and I used to be allergic to dogs but I somehow grew out of it, with the help of some serious medication. I still dislike them a lot and the way they salivate over everything and jump right at you is just disgusting. I have had my share of arguments with dog owners, who insist on explaining how cute their pets are and what lovely personalities they have. Like I care...
 
You won't believe how good it feels to me to read that. I hadn't even gotten into the jumping and salivating thing. I once had a guy show me a video of his dog carrying around some toy, and he kept insisting at how adorable it was. I couldn't find anything adorable about it. It was a huge monster with a toy soaked with drool in its mouth. Yuck!
I had a date last year with a girl who brought her boxer with her. I tried to pull myself together and tolerate the animal, which was drooling everywhere and running off all the time, with the girl shouting after it. I remained polite, but I never called her again.
 
I don't think people get the difference between being nervous about something, or frightened of an immediate threat, and a real ingrained, phobia-type fear. I have one about bats, which comes from camping in an old building where bats were regularly flying through the room. Then I started finding bite marks...
Turns out they were probably insect bites, but it took me years (and yes, medication) to get over that phobia. Couldn't even read the word 'bats' at one stage without getting a burst of anxiety
 
So I guess that's when you discovered Fear of the Dark and became a Maiden fan? :p
 
I used to have extreme phobia of snakes and I have never even seen one. I used to vomit if I saw a picture of a snake. I used to have panic attacks and started trembling uncontrollably. It somehow got better with time. I'm still terrified and do anything I can to avoid looking at snakes, on TV or whatever. But at least I don't get physically sick anymore.
 
A lot of people just don't understand that it's a really deep psychological response. Spiders, dogs, snakes and bats aren't unusual phobias, which suggests its something deeply ingrained in human nature. My mum is phobic about birds, though, especially crows.

And no, Perun, I think The Trooper was my first Maiden experience ;)
 
I love snakes. I was at the place of some guy once (a friend's friend) who had a small boa constrictor. I was a bit wary at first, but eventually, I let him take it out and put it on my shoulders. The thing is a single muscle, and having it on the back of your neck is like a great massage. From that point on, I stopped understanding why they have such a bad reputation. I can hardly think of a more beautiful and dignified animal.

Notice how I seem to have a story to tell about virtually every type of animal? :huh:
 
Per, I'm sorry, I couldn't read the story. I got to the "... put it on my shoulders" part and got shivers, so I stopped. :S

It's funny. Some people have those very weird phobias, indeed. My sister is terrified of ... chickens.
 
Sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable.

Chickens can be very aggressive. I can imagine they can freak little children out. Never happened to me, even though I lived on a farm for the first three years of my life and my parents say I used to play with the chickens a lot.

I was, however, bitten by a swan once when I was around six. I have no particularly harsh feelings for these birds nowadays (I think they're beautiful), but I'm careful not to come too close to them.

I really do seem to have a story for every animal.
 
That's okay. It's just my personal weirdness. :)
I've been bitten by a rooster several times and have had to fight an attacking goose but I don't mind birds at all.
 
I think I have no fear of any animal apart from roaches. Interesting. But then again, I'm a guy of a cemented world, what do I know.
 
The thing with chickens and geese is that they're just very stupid, and I don't take them very seriously. They may attack you, but it never feels like any sort of malevolence to me, unlike dogs. With dogs, it feels like they know what they're doing, with running birds, it just feels like dim wit. I know that's a very anthropomorphic interpretation, and I generally reject interpreting human sentiments into animal behaviour, but sometimes, you just can't help it.
 
I don't think it's anthropomorphic at all. Dogs are supposed to be smarter than chickens, so they should know when people are not a threat to them and stay calm. Pet dogs in particular have to be trained to withhold their aggression by all means. When a dog attacks a person, I still blame its owner mostly and not the animal.
 
They may be predators but if you want to have one at home, you have to teach it not to react aggressively. If you can't teach your dog to behave, there are ways to control it. If you can't control it, you need to be punished for being irresponsible.
 
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