Dog days

I’m not sure if it’s just because I live next to one of the largest parks that there is in Singapore, but Katong where I live is inundated with a plethora of pet shops. On a mile strip of East Coast Road I counted four alone. Maybe Singaporeans are super pet friendly or maybe it’s just that my habitual locale makes for a suitable place to pitch to the pet loving fraternity who are often seen taking Fido for regular walks.

Even more odd is the choice of dog I seem to see the most. Singapore is a hot and humid place for the majority of the year so you’d expect to see small dogs or those that cope with the heat well, such as miniatures or the less hairy breeds. Nope not in Singapore. I just keep seeing endless numbers of Siberian Huskies trotting up and down the place - which is probably the most unsuitable dog you can imagine for a climate like this. For a dog you normally expect to be sat lolling in front of a roaring fire after overdosing on the aroma of too much fondue in an Austrian ski chalet it’s a tiny bit odd seeing it pull a tanned roller-blading girl in hot-pants down the park path. Typically being pulled on the wrong side of the track going against the flow of traffic, but that’s a different story altogether.

What is it that makes people buy a dog with the thickest and most efficient heat absorbent coat and plonking it in a climate where people only own one sweater? I am a little perplexed to be honest. Now a husky is a lovely animal and I’m a dog person (I was going to say lover but it sounds a bit dodgy) as much as the next but I would certainly be asking myself the question of “is this the most suitable dog I can really think of buying here?”

Not to perambulate around the bush but it does make you think that the thought process has not been too well walked through.

For me it’d be easy to choose a dog like that as I used to watch the TV show Due South as a growing kid and always wanted to have a dog like the immensely cute and perversely talented Diefenbaker when I was grown up. This was the kind of dog that had attitude, selective hearing and made Lassie look like she’d be better off at home assisting in some delicate baking rather than saving little Jimmy from down the disused mineshaft. I’d still love one, but my track record in temporarily abandoning my two cats in London for a while along with living fifteen stories up in a house a third smaller than my house in London does not make me the ideal candidate for having one. It does seem a little bit wrong having one in the least snowy climate that you can possibly find but the ones I have seen seem happy enough panting away happily up and down by the beach.

You do see a lot of smaller handbag type dogs too. I say handbag as you generally see them being carried inside handbags but predominantly the dog I see over and over again is the Husky. Maybe it’s a fashion trend that I have not picked up on. A quick google of ‘Singapore, Husky puppies’ gives quite a few cute looking hits which are surprisingly cheap compared to puppies back home. Sadly though, you do see quite a few dogs around 12-18 months old looking to be re-homed probably after the owners have realised that the maid has been swallowed or something.

Maybe at home these dogs are being kept in sub zero condo conditions which makes them feel slightly more at home. Sat shivering away in some arctic tinged high rise stalactite ridden apartment where the children are huddled around the dog in the evening as if to draw off the heat they've absorbed from a day basking under the palm trees might be what goes on. Friends of mine missing the winter season had such a party last year. Inviting friends around for a winter fondue party in full hat, gloves and winter parker. All the windows were closed, every AC unit turned onto the coldest setting and the frost free freezer door opened for good measure.

Brr – make me cold thinking about it. Maybe it’s my trip to London next week and the onward trip to Utah which is making me think of cold thoughts again.

A fortnight back in London via Utah for some snowboarding is lined up. It is going to be nice to be back in London briefly, if nothing else but to stock up on things that I have actually found are impossible to buy in Singapore:-

Namely muesli, good sun lotion (as in not emulsion paint)and good handmade shoes that are less than $1000.

The thought of getting to wear not just a sweater, but a coat some gloves and a scarf for the first time in nearly 8 months is giving me the chills just thinking about it. From 26 degrees in the shade to minus 20 in my thermals is going to be a bit of a shock to the system.

Maybe I should try and get invited around somewhere to huddle up with the dog in preparation.