I am not an animal lover. I remember walking into a pet shop with my JC classmates and the girls were busy swooning over all the rabbits and hamsters trapped in plastic boxes. All I could recall was hoping to get out of the shop as soon as possible bcos it stinks. But I don't dislike animals. I'm fine with them as long as they are clean and don't attempt to attack me.

When I was in Danshui, I realised the dogs there are so different from the dogs back home. They are not on leash bcos, well, they don't need to be controlled. They don't bark at people and they're so comfortable with human beings. Even the small dogs don't jump around that much. I hardly touch animals to begin with but I was drawn to these furry friends. They looked at me when I pat their heads and there was something in their expression when our eyes met. There was a connection. A sparkle. An acknowledgement of each other's presence.

The last time I walked a dog, it was pulling me rather than me controlling it. Jeez. They go wild and super hyper when they're out, a result of being cooped up at home for too long I believe. His poor family dog hasn't gone for a walk for the longest time and he releases all his pent-up energy by barking and attacking me, every single time I visit, without fail. I seriously think the dogs back home must be suffering from mild depression due to lack of space to run about. It's just too congested in our city and the dogs are going crazy.

We were walking around in Yang Ming Shan and this dog ran past us and disappeared up the hill. It came zooming downhill when we were trying to get someone to help us with photos. Turned out that the dog belongs to the man who took a picture for us and I was quite amazed that he's not the least bit worried about letting his dog run around. If a dog is let loose back home, chances are it will never come back. I think that must be the happiest dog I have seen in my life. It's every dog's dream to be in control and to be able to run around, freely.