Walking the Kids

We went for our walk later this morning than we usually do. I had some things I had to take care of this morning so we didn't get out of the house until almost eight o'clock. We are usually home by 7 or 7:15. It is just too damn HOT outside for the Kids at eight - but we went anyway - because I knew I wanted to give The Baby [also known as The Pretty Princess] a haircut today - and I needed her good and tired out before I plugged the clippers in. It worked. Both Kids came home panting and exhausted and both plopped down to cool off on the tile floor.

As we were walking I was thinking about how insane the new rule is that cats and dogs are not allowed to be walked in public - or sold in Riyadh. An inane group of men that has determined that cats and dogs are being walked to disturb families or worse - flirt with women! We certainly can't have any of THAT here! What would the rest of the world think of a country that is so devoutly religious if young men walking their dogs were to flirt with women. Good grief. Anyway, it occurred to me that there will be more "issues" in the future that many may not have considered because of this ridiculous pronouncement.

We have our own veterinarian's office with two really good doctors on our compound. The veterinarian's office also does boarding and grooming and they import massive amounts of Canin food for cats and dogs. Yes, I make my Kids food, when I can't ship The Honest Kitchen's products in, but I supplement the food I make with the Canin that I get at our vet's office. A few months ago, I went to get a bag of food and there wasn't any. It was ordered - it was here - but for whatever reason it was being held up by customs, here. [Big surprise. It is Customs job to inspect whatever is imported. That requires "work."] The vet's office didn't get the food until a couple of weeks later - it had, by that time, been sitting at Customs for a couple of months.

So what is going to happen now that there are to be no more cats and dogs for sale? Or cats and dogs allowed in public? Getting dog or cat food is going to be even more difficult, because you just know that "they" [the powers that be, here] are going to wrongly reason that if, in their eyes, there are no cats and dogs, no need to have pet food imported. Just wait and see. Much like an ostrich's head in the sand... I live in a country that is totally, totally a LFZ!

Anyway, I just got done clipping The Pretty Princess. Not an easy task. And it takes several hours to do it. I've only been grooming The Baby myself for a year or so. This is the fifth time I've clipped her. I'm getting better and better at it, if I do say so myself! And even though it took me several hours, it gets a little quicker each time, now that I've finally figured out what I'm doing. Let me say that it would go a whole lot faster if I could get the little black fur-ball of energy to sit or lay still! Impossible. Yes, she was tired from her walk this morning, but it doesn't take her long to recharge into full of energy mode, so she laid still for me for about twenty minutes and then she'd had enough - she wiggles, she squirms. It is very much a wrestling match for the two of us when I cut her hair. [Poodles do not have fur, they have hair - it grows - and it grows fast!]

Later this afternoon - once the sun starts to go down - I'm going to give both Kids baths in the back yard. Just so much easier to do it out there than in the tub. The Boy is so easy - he just climbs into the tub and stands still for as long as I need him too - he won't even shake until I tell him he can. The Baby, on the other hand, uses all her might and will power to escape the entire time I am trying to bathe her - it is a struggle for both of us - me to contain her - and her to get out of the tub. I get soaked, the bathroom gets soaked. May as well just plan on getting wet and do it outside with the hose. The water coming out of the hose is warm - there is NO cold water, here, in the summer.

I spend a great deal of time with my Kids. They are great company. We walk. We play. That this country has declared a ban on the sale of cats and dogs and is now forbidding them to be out in public is a mistake on so many levels. Don't the authorities and powers that be, here, realize the health benefits of pets? I know there are studies are out there that show that pets have a positive and calming effect on people; that people heal faster if they are sick in the company of a pet; and that young children learn to read more quickly if they read to a pet, and so on and so forth... People that have pets exercise more. If you exercise you are less likely to be overweight and unhealthy. [So, what's my excuse then? Hmmm...] I just really, really think that the men running this country are doing a big disservice to its residents and am hopeful that someone sees the light and realizes that not allowing people to walk their pets in public and that banning the sale of cats and dogs is just not right. Thankfully I live on a compound where, for the time being, we are allowed to be out walking our dogs - or Kids...