A big dog in my community started barking at me a few weeks ago. It woofs fiercely as if it would come and swallow me up. I get petrified. As a result, every weekend when I come back to the yard, I run fast to stay away from the menacing beast.

One day I was walking home, my mind on the recent exam results. I was not aware that the dog was lurking around somewhere along the path. All of a sudden, the canine jumped out. I got startled. This time, unexpectedly, the animal was whining at me, wagging its tail.

“What’s up?” I asked myself. I thought the dog might be setting upon me any minute. When I looked into its eyes, instead, I saw tenderness in them. “Why?” I was puzzled. Normally the animal, when we bumped into each other, would be glaring at me as if fire were bursting out of its eyes.

It dawned on me that I was carrying in my hand a plastic bag, where there was some deli meat. “Oh, you bad dog!” I cursed. “I know what you want.”

I tossed the delicacy to the animal. It seized it and started to wolf down the delicious treat on the spot.

Since that feeding, a bigger problem has turned up. Every time I get home, the dog never fails to be awaiting me in the yard. Wagging its tail like crazy, it follows me all the way to the gate of my tower block.