It's a dog's life.

Warning: Absolutely pointless story, completely unconnected with what I want to convey.

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They met at the park. Like they did every evening. They happily wagged their tails at each other, since the park was mutually agreed as 'common ground'. No territorial fights here. Every one of them could raise his/her leg and leave his/her mark wherever he/she wanted.

There were all kinds of them. Big, nasty looking ones, the kind that made kids cry and adults step aside to let them pass. Tiny, furry ones that made all the girls go "soooo cuuuuute". And the ones who were so utterly unremarkable that they were barely noticed and often shooed away. He was in the third category. And acutely aware of his ordinariness.

They were all walked by their owners. Or at least the owners thought so. He liked his owner. The big guy was never harsh on him. He had heard horror stories of owners mis-treating (or is it ill-treating?) their pets. While he may not have got those delicious looking bone-shaped treats or the pampering in a specially cushioned kennel, he was reasonably well taken care of. Meals at the right time, clean water, a walk in the park now and then with the owner trailing behind. His owner was confident enough to even let him run ahead freely from time to time, letting go of the rope around his neck. After all, he was obedient, sitting when told to, and rolling over when ordered to.

And it was in one of those walks that he saw it. A beautiful looking chain around his friend's neck, shimmering like it was made of gold. And he looked at his own and saw it was one of those boring old leather ones, frayed at its ends. And he thought to himself, "How wonderful it would be to have one of that!" Hell, even the snooty bitches that walked in the park with their noses held up in the air would be impressed. After all, bitches and bling went paw in paw.

As if reading his mind, his other much older friend trotting alongside barked, "stop dreaming, you idiot! No matter how shiny it looks, remember, at the end of the day, it is a leash. One that keeps you bound to your place."

"But, but... even you and I are on a leash. And while we are destined to be tied up, we might as well be tied to a fancy chain," he argued. His friend paused, drew in his breath deep and said in a calm, low growl, "All I can say is, it is much easier to break away from your tattered leash, if you have to someday. And the sooner you realize that, the better off you will be."

But he was young and reckless and this talk of breaking away seemed all old-fashioned. "Poor thing, he has grown so disgruntled in life that he cannot even relish the good things in life", he thought to himself.

And then one day, the unrealizable dream came true. Because, his owner, apparently in a bout of 'I-am-no-cheapskate' thinking, got him one of those fancy chains. Shimmering black metal, all new and shiny, cold to the touch.

His happiness knew no bounds. Not for long though. Because unlike his happiness, his neck soon came to know only the bound chain. And by extension (or rather the lack of one), he could no longer show off his leaps. Or his bounds (not even the one around his neck).

Ok, enough of puns on bounds. Else, everyone is bound to bash me up. End of stupid story.
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PS1: This post is triggered by my employer giving me this. The bloody thing's pouch costs almost as much as my earlier phone.

PS2: No, I am not showing off. That I will, once I figure out how to operate the damn thing, especially its 'so sensitive it's gotta be a girl' touchpad. But the day I learn to do fancy stuff, especially how to put the irritating signature line 'Sent from my wireless handheld Blackberry" at the end of every mail, that will be the day man conquered technology!