Appearances are deceptive

My neighbors have a dog, Vinny. It is aptly named after Vinny Jones, a former British football player turned actor. And I must say that I can

 

somewhat see the resemblance. Like Mr. Jones, Vinny looks a bit rough around the edges, as most Steffies do. Bar Steffi Graff of course. But appearances can be deceiving. From experience I can tell that Vinny is a very friendly creature. Always poking its head over the fence when I approach my front door. How can I not oblige to so much friendliness. We thus became good mates. And it is not the first Steffie either that, so to speak, came across my path. South African Patch was another one.

But as I said, appearances can be deceiving. A few Dutchies found out the hard way that a Pitbull, although it looks similar to a Steffie, is in fact a different ball-game altogether. 

'Saturday evening a pitbull bit four family members in 's-Heerenberg' 

I cannot repeat it enough: "Always check the label." Nasty as it is though, things can be a lot nastier. 

Who can resist a furry bundle of joy that a kitten normally is? I fore one cannot. But it is a bit foolish to think that the high level of cuddliness that comes with the average kitten, applies to every cat. An Australian tourist, obviously more used to crocs than to cats, had a minor error of judgement during his trip in South Africa. Nope, a lion may well be a cat but it is not of the cuddly kind at all He was lucky to get away with only a few scratches. 

And I cannot blame the lion for having a go at it, at all. Picture yourself being a lion, laying under a tree on a hot afternoon on the African savannah. Every now and then what appears to be tinned food is rolling by. Most of the times unreachable for the average lion, not equipped with a tin-opener, because windows and doors are shut to keep the cold in and the lions out. Not this tin on wheels though. You spot an open window and a foolish boy looking foolishly at you and your mates. Well, you must have thought, I can either get very tired chasing zebras tonight for a hearty meal or try this idiot of a tourist. A no-brainer, obviously. And the Aussie bloke too. 

Not that it is an incident either. Nope. The internet is littered with blockheads that mistake wild animals for their childhood pets. Much to my liking though, wild animals often remind them yokels that their appearances are deceptive. The hard way.

Paddington may be a bear, but not all bears are Paddington...