Story: Taming the Dog

Even though Conrad was a young man, a lot and happened in his life. Conrad had experience of tragedy and he was anxious – never knowing what might happen next. Conrad lived in a rough area where there were frequent fights. He had every reason to worry about his safety. He bought himself a pit bull terrier, which would growl whenever he felt his master was threatened. Conrad felt safe with this dog.

Then Conrad had reason to move to a quiet sleepy town. Not much happened here, and Conrad found himself beginning to relax. There was only one problem: whenever Conrad started talking to people and making friends, the dog would growl and frighten then. Soon, his reputation spread and after a while, people avoided him. Conrad became lonely.

One day after taking his dog for a walk, Conrad went into his local pub, the Red Lion. He ordered himself a beer and sat in the corner to drink it. Then he saw her – a beautiful girl with long shapely legs, heart-shaped lips and blonde hair, laughing with her friend. Conrad stared. She was so beautiful you wanted to talk to her. Then he saw his chance. The girl’s friend began talking to someone else. Conrad walked up to the girl and spoke to her. Miracles of miracles, she smiled at him! He felt encouraged and asked her name. It was Isabella. Just as he felt he was making progress, Conrad’s dog growled. Conrad was so desperate that the dog would not ruin his chances that he bent down, put the dogs face between his hands and said NO! The dog, surprised, fell quiet. Conrad picked up a crisp and gave it to the dog. Before her friend came back, Conrad managed to get Isabella’s phone number.

Over the next few days, Conrad carried biscuits around in his pocket and deliberately struck up conversations with people. As soon as the dog started to growl, he would say NO! And give the dog a biscuit. After a while, the dog stopped growling.

Conrad and Isabella? Romance blossomed and Conrad settled happily in his new home.

Hilary Farmer