...he wasn't partying and wasting his life in cow-town...rather just biding his time...but guess who's back?? back again?? phinny's back--tell a friend (apologies to all the Shady fans...but I feel like singing, I'm so happy to have my whole little family together again!!).
We had arranged for Boomerang Pet Shippers (http://www.boomerangpetcarrier.com/) based in Calgary to take care of all of Phinnaeus's travel arrangements. Apparently it is very challenging on the Abu Dhabi end of things to make arrangements for the import permit, and clearing pets at customs can take 3-4 hours. I figured that with all the stress we already had regarding the move, this was one thing I would happily hand over to someone more experienced.
So, three flights later (Calgary to Vancouver, Vancouver to Amsterdam, Amsterdam to Abu Dhabi) Phinn is finally here, and resting peacefully in his kennel, while I click away at my update.
We were expecting him to arrive sometime between 2 and 3 in the morning today. The BritVet clinic here (http://www.britvet.com/) had arranged for a driver (Fahad) to pick him up from the airport. I have to admit, I was very nervous; everything that I have read makes it clear that Islamic attitudes towards dogs are not positive. I was pretty stressed out that he would be waiting at the airport for 3-4 hours with someone who wouldn't consider the fact that he was a sentient being, and take the time to soothe and calm him. Around midnight, we got our first call from Fahad. From what I understood (and it was difficult to understand b/c (a) we were sleeping, (b) Fahad was not a native English speaker (c) nobody seems to have a land-line anymore and so it's bloody hard to hear people!! (d) I got the message relayed second-hand from P who is not known for his excellent communication skills) he was going to the britvet clinic to get some papers, and then to the post-office (?) and then he would call us again in an hour.
An hour later (very reliable) we got another call. This time, P handed the phone to me. It seems Fahad needed Phinn's vaccination documents--the originals--not copies and did I have them? I told him that the originals should be with Phinn, as the pet shipper had made it clear that all the ORIGINAL documents went with the dog (this was something I had asked about). Then I ran around looking for Phinn's 'passport' (yes...he has one...from our vet-basically it is a listing of all of his shots) as I knew I had brought it with me. This was challenging as we do not have any lights in any of the rooms (just the halls, and a few floorlamps). Suffice it to say, I did not find it.
The whole time I was looking for these documents, Fahad was still on the phone. He was telling me about 'his baby' and how he was going to take his baby, and not let them quarantine him. It took me a few minutes to realize that 'his baby' was actually MY four-legged furry baby, Phinn...and then I began to panic, wondering where this stranger planned on taking my dog. Eventually, he told me that they were releasing Phinn with the 'copies' of his vaccination certificates, and that I should follow up with the BritVet clinic, regarding the originals. He then said he would bring my baby home within an hour.
At this point, with my adrenalin jacked, fearing for the safe-return of my dog, I could not sleep. P was a sweetheart, and despite my protests, slipped on an episode of the Office for us to watch to pass the time. That made me laugh, and helped me to calm down.
Until the phone rang again.
Familiar voice: Fahad. He said: "Go alone outside your home, and take only your phone. There will be a white van parked outside your gate...do you see it..?".
Seriously. Now...that kind of freaked me out again...what was going on?
But, it was Phinn...and so, prepared for any kind of ransom request...I slipped on my sandals and out I went. There was the white van...and two, young Middle Eastern men. They opened up the back doors of the van...were they getting ready to throw me in? Where was P???
Instead, I saw what I had been waiting for since October 1. The cream coloured vari-kennel carrier, with a little brownish bump inside (that's all you could see). They passed him over to me gently, and I greeted him with with a soft 'hello Phinny', and suddenly, there was P, ready to take him inside.
I still had the phone to my ear, and Fahad was saying "Do you have him? Do you have my baby? I wait three hours with him at the airport, and now I am waiting with another dog...a big one. My son is bringing my baby to you. You love him, and you take good care of my baby. You happy now?"
And I was...very happy.
Fahad needed to talk with his son, and so he asked me to pass over the phone. I also received a lovely letter from my nephew, Sahil, with his second grade school photo. I miss that guy!! He's going to be so big the next time I see him!
So, with that done, the young gents left, and I got down to the business of loving my dog. We showed him where his new bathroom was, and he took some time to explore the house. He was parched and almost drank a whole bowl of water. I had also made him a 'welcome home' egg, which he wolfed er..pommed.. down, and then proceeded to eat all of his kibble.
Once he was sufficiently calm, we decided to head upstairs. This entire time, little A was sleeping, with promises of her 'brotha from a different motha's' return in the morning--and we wanted to keep it that way...at least I thought we did.
When we got into bed, A woke slightly. I was going to feed her, and send her back into dreamland, but her pappa had other ideas: "Look who's here....Phinny's here"...it was dark, and all you could see was his tented ears...but that was enough. She was up instantly, and crawling all over him. Then he got up and the two of them danced around the room. About an hour later, he got tired and wanted to sleep, but A still had not had enough. She was rolling all over him, and giving him the mmmmm-aaahs!!(kisses) that he had been missing for over a month. And she was pointing at him, and talking and laughing. It was delightful...but not so much at 3:30 in the morning.
Finally, I had to call it. I think it was almost 4 when I enlisted some help of the pharmaceutical variety, to help her fall asleep. I think we (Phinn included) were all thrilled when it kicked in, and she closed her eyes (and her mouth) and went to sleep.
When P's alarm went off, what felt like seconds later, I cringed, hoping she wouldn't wake back up. She didn't, and frankly, neither did P. He was exhausted (not many of us can survive on that little sleep...how the heck have I been doing it for so one year and five months...and counting...I'm a MACHINE!!).
Tired as he was, that good man still had the energy to peel and slice some mango for us and leave it in the fridge, before he went to work. We had it for breakfast. After we ate, we all went out for a little walk around the 'hood (see pics above). A has decided she is the new boss of Phinn, and therefore, she must hold his leash the whole time. Nevermind that her chubby little legs can't keep up with his pace, or that her 10 kg weight isn't enough to make him stop when she wants him to. Phinny has marked our flowerbed a few times (it's HIS after-all) and also decided that the lovely patch of green grass at the end of the lane, just wouldn't be complete without some phinn-spuds (don't worry...I cleaned them up).
Finally feels like home now.
More pics of the villa to follow (just need to clean it up a little).
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