Uh oh…Dog Hair…

How is it possible to travel in a taxi and not get any dog hair on the edge of the seat or the floor? And how is it possible that that hair won't show up when I have a white dog and the upholstery is black?

Even brushing Suki every day doesn't prevent some hairs from shedding. And when the driver insisted that we get in the back and I realized that I would have to get out the same door as we came in or end up in the middle of the street, I knew we were in deep trouble. Suki got into the taxi and was cramped between the front and the back seat. The driver claimed he'd moved the front seat forward, but Suki and I spent the entire trip trying to maneuver our six feet so that we both had room. And when we got to town I immediately saw that Suki was not going to be able to turn around and get out the way she had come in.

Unfortunately dogs can't back out of a car…And sure enough, what I had feared happened: I called Suki out, but she put her two front paws on the back seat to get herself out the door. Standing on the sidewalk with a dog on the leash in one hand and my knapsack and Suki's harness in the other I apologized profusely, put my bag down and attempted to brush off the seat as best as I could where I thought Suki's paws had been. He drove off angry and I was left feeling bad. Things always seem to be a lot easier when Suki is in the front: she always manages to get neatly out, turning into a sitting position facing the door and then waiting until I get out and follow me.

We did better in Haifa. I have never before attempted to get into the large yellow service taxis. It seemed to me to be a real invitation for trouble: cramped quarters, nowhere to put a dog, and seven other passengers who would have to be in close proximity to a large dog and drivers who feel they are not bound to any laws at all. So when a yellow cab stopped at the bus stop and called out that he was going to the Hof Hacarmel terminal and invited me in, I decided that his invitation was worth accepting. He raved about the dog all the way, saying it was a mitzvah to take the dog and confronting every passenger who balked at the stops and was reluctant to get in at the sight of a large white dog in the first seat. He stuck to his guns all the way down the mountain.

In hopes of dealing with the hair problem I ordered a deshedding tool from abroad. I wonder how much hair it will remove. Suki sure seems to have a lot.