Monkeys in the Zoo

When I'm out walking with the dogs each morning, we see joggers and bikers and other walkers. Without fail, everyone gives us a smile and often a "good morning!". Who can help but be in a good mood when you live in such a beautiful part of the world? And be out in the glorious fresh air of the new day? Fairly often, we also receive this compliment: "beautiful dogs!".

Of course they are beautiful dogs. They are groomed, in good physical condition, and, most importantly, trained (i.e., heavily rewarded) to behave themselves, more or less, on lead and in public. Even Azza has learned how to accept these compliments gracefully (she usually growls at people who speak to me).

But the larger issue is contained in the smiles and the greetings--such a pleasing social custom. See, in Dhahran, I might see other people while out walking the dogs but unless I knew them, there would be no eye contact, no smile, no greeting. Definitely none of those things if they were Saudi or Asian.

Bizarrely, there were some rather specific times in Dhahran we generated a response in passers-by. On multiple occasions when I was walking the dogs, an enormous SUV would pull up next to us, heavily tinted windows coming down to reveal a car crammed with fully veiled women and half a dozen frenetic toddlers and children, none of whom were in car seats, pointing and gibbering at me and the dogs.

Like we were monkeys in the zoo.

I nearly always had a baggie of dog poop in one hand since pooping was a primary reason for walking the dogs. I quickly began to tap into the zoo monkey umwelt because after the fifth or dozenth time this happened, I found myself overwhelmed by a desire to fling that bag of shit right into that car.

We are not exhibits in the zoo anymore.