In last week's Lifestyle, we carried a feature about the lack of animal welfare legislation in the country, and this week Paul Rivas retaliates with a warm piece about the many pets owned by Saudis in Riyadh who adore animals and love their pets as family members. Everyone, or just about everyone loves animals. Those people who don't have pets are missing out on a unique experience of communication with non-human beings. All animals have a certain insight which human beings seem to inherently lack; this provides them with a sense of balance to co-exist peacefully with people and other animals, enabling them to adjust and cope with a lot more than us humans. In Riyadh itself, there are a lot more pets than one may think. Take Cleo, an unassuming Siamese cat, for instance, whose only pleasure in life – apart from food - is babysitting a two-month-old baby boy whose life has been brightened by Cleo's smiling green eyes. Another wonderful pet is Toto the labrador, whose bark could halt any battle. He watches over the garden and gate of his Saudi owner and lives with the family in perfect harmony. Monique the turtle is a “cool” pet in her owner's words and is content to peek out at the world only when there is peace and quiet and lettuce can be found nearby. She is a slow-walking, yet fast-minded little creature that plans to out-live everyone in sight. Poopsie, the snow-white rabbit living in a high-rise apartment in Riyadh finds contentment and happiness in his play-pen, which is a hand-me-down from a child that outgrew the confinement. He escapes from it periodically, using a number of clever and devious ways, so his owner has patched the play-pen with cardboard to abort Poopsie's sudden leaps of freedom. Dracula is a tiny, garden-variety snake who slithers from one room to another in the bungalow of his family, but his owner never seems concerned if Dracula disappears. It is a known fact that he will soon reappear next to a water bowl or the TV, where he comes seeking warmth.
