I can't believe I sympathized with a dog today. Ever been scared by someone who always seems unnaturally happy to see you? Well, in the case of the poor dog, she wandered in behind her owner until a post-doc spotted her and started squealing in excitement. "Fifi!" (The dog's name is not Fifi though.) The dog took one look at the post-doc and ran the other way. This was not the first time something like this happened. On another incident, the post-doc wailed, "He likes you!" when a large hunting dog followed me instead.
Over-enthusiasm spooks animals. I've noticed that whenever I encounter a dog or a cat, I usually hold out a hand in a way of greeting and speak as if I'm talking to another person. I don't hyperventilate and scream, "Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" Either the animal loses interest in me (and in that case, I don't go off chasing after it) or decides I'm a big fluffy pillow to sleep on.
Oh, and I think I accidentally spiked my own coffee with some white stuff that I thought was sugar cause I'm feeling a bit woozy.
