"Is he training to join the army?" a woman watching the duo asks.

"No, he's training to run from stray dogs," the friend replies.

The satirical video, made by an ad agency, isn't unique - over the past few weeks, thousands of people in Kerala have forwarded memes and videos that express anger towards stray dogs.

The reaction has been sparked by several recent reports of dogs - some of them pets - attacking people.

Animal welfare activists and veterinarians say most people in Kerala do not have a friendly relationship with dogs and keep them at a distance.

"Here, even pet dogs are mostly kept in kennels or caged or tied up for the entire day. Rarely do people let their dogs inside their homes," says animal welfare advocate Sally Varma.

"Now people see a stray sleeping on the road and assume it is rabid," she adds.

*

The trouble originated in a border dispute. In 1846, the Oregon Treaty established the 49th parallel as the official frontier between British and American territories in the Pacific Northwest, but made an exception for Vancouver Island, which, despite dipping below the 49th parallel, was allowed to remain British. This western kink in the border was, in the wording of the treaty, to be demarcated by the "middle of the channel which separates the continent from Vancouver's Island". But as the waters of the Salish Sea contained scores of small islands and several different channels, no one could agree which one marked the true border.

Occupying a region claimed by both nations, San Juan Island suddenly found itself at the epicentre of a serious diplomatic crisis.

There was little to disturb the peace nearly two centuries later, as I pedalled south on a hired bicycle from the island's only settlement, Friday Harbor. It was a warm, sultry day in July and I was heading for American Camp, part of a National Historical Park dedicated to the so-called "Pig War". Several weeks previously, the park had opened a new visitor centre and I was curious to find out how the demise of a hapless boar had nearly sparked an international conflict.

The woods arose in folds, like drapery of awakened mountains, stately with a depth of awe, and memory of the tempests. Autumn’s mellow hand was upon them, as they owned already, touched with gold and red and olive, and their joy towards the sun was less to a bridegroom than a father.

Yet before the floating impress of the woods could clear it self, suddenly the gladsome light leaped over hill and valley, casting amber, blue, and purple, and a tint of rich red rose; according to the scene they lit on, and the curtain flung around; yet all alike dispelling fear and the cloven hoof of darkness, all on the wings of hope advancing, and proclaiming, “God is here!” then life and joy sprang reassured from every crouching hollow; every flower, and bud and bird had a fluttering sense of them; and all the flashing of God’s gaze merged into soft beneficence.

So, perhaps, shall break upon us that eternal morning, when crag and chasm shall be no more, neither hill and valley, nor great unvintaged ocean; but all things shall arise, and shine in the light of the Father’s countenance, because itself is risen.

　　Of course not!

　　You don't have to suffer needlessly. Your destiny depends on you, not on any other external factors.

　　I know someone who says she just accepts what life gives her because she has done everything she can to improve it.

　　Guess what her lifestyle is?

　　She wakes up in the morning, goes to work, comes back home, relaxes, chats with people, watches TV, then goes to sleep. Next day, the same routinary cycle ensues.

　　Huh?!? Is this what she calls "doing her best?"

　　She believes she has tried her best and just accepts it in her heart that this is the life that God has intended for her to live; that her luck can only change if God wills it.

　　Of course God wants us to be happy and live our life to the fullest, but we have to do our share of exerting the effort to live the life of our dreams.

　　You reap what you sow.

　　You just don't sit around and wait for a million dollars to fall from the sky. You have to get off the couch, get your eyes off the TV screen, get your hands off the phone (unless it contributes to your success), and get your mind and body to work!

　　If your life is not meant the way you want it to be, don't just say: "Our time will come." or "Things will get better some day."

　　Don't expect your luck to change, unless you do something about it. If something goes wrong, don't just regard it as a temporary setback; but use it as feedback. Learn your lesson, make the most of the situation, and do something to resolve the problem.

　　It's not enough to think positive; you also have to act positive.

　　If someone's life is in trouble, do you just hope and pray that things will turn out fine? Of course not! You got to do anything you can to save the person.

　　So it is with your own life. It is not enough to hope for the best, but you have to DO your best.

　　In other words, don't just stand (or sit) there, do something to improve your life!