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Why I Made a Bag Liner for Diplo Dog

January 25, 2012

While we were on holiday, they tried to kick DiploDog out of the building. It’s quite unfair because the policy is “no PETS allowed.” Those who have cats though freely flaunt them – I’ve even seen one tenant go up and down the elevator with his cat on his shoulder. So it is really only with dogs that the policy is implemented because Muslim tenants complain about them. To work around this we settled on an arrangement to cover up DiploDog completely every time he is brought down for a walk. This seems fair to me since, it is showing respect for our Muslim neighbors (Dog saliva is considered “haram” or unclean) so I immediately set out to make a bag liner for DiploDog’s bag made out of cheap canvas cloth from Majestic Market. 

Now you see him, now you don’t! =)

I wish I could share step by step instructions, but I really just made it up while I went along.

  • I just made sure that it was tall enough to cover him completely
  • With a drawstring closure on top to make sure that DiploDog is hidden. We don’t close it fully of course so that he has enough air to breathe.
  • The great thing about this canvas fabric is that it stands on its own.
  • I made the rope with scrap fabric that I sewed together and then inverted it. Perfect because I didn’t waste too much fabric!

DiploDog was such a good boy, modeling for my shoot. =)  What do you think of this DiploDIY project? =) Hope you like it!

 

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8 Comments · Diplo Mama

Comments

  1. Just Me says

    January 25, 2012 at 4:37 AM

    brilliant!!! 🙂 i wish others have the same sensitivity and creativity like you. frankly, as Muslim, i cannot forget how I have to watch out around carefully when stepping into elevator, park, shopping complex etc. once, a puppy jumped from it’s owner lap towards me and i can’t help screaming out of shocked. that was embarrassing for both me and the dog’s owner i think.
    i hope diplodog is happy with your new creation. He looks so cute in it 🙂

    Reply
    • diplomaticwife says

      January 25, 2012 at 5:02 AM

      Hello there! I am glad that you think it’s brilliant! I definitely need the affirmation. And I really hope that our neighbors will feel the same way! It is really stressful for us as well because of course DiploDog is a part of our family and the constant danger that he will get kicked out is something that we have had to adjust to.

      I think that is the thing with apartments/condos – we must all do our best so that we can all live comfortably around each other with respect for each others space and religion. It’s something that I realize we learned to be more sensitive to when living abroad and learning how to adapt in the differences in culture and/or religion.

      I am so sorry to hear of what happened to you. I know how common dogs are in Manila and they are totally all over the place – parks, malls and condos! We sometimes forget that not everyone is going to be comfortable with their presence!

      Thank you so much for your sweet comment. I really really appreciate it!

      Reply
  2. Ellyna says

    January 26, 2012 at 1:13 PM

    Wow! Poor mutt, he’s forced to hide, while he could’ve stick his head out and take a look around the Manila scene…But that’s a really creative solution, great one Ma’am 😉

    Reply
    • diplomaticwife says

      January 27, 2012 at 4:18 AM

      Haha Ellyna… In Manila he would be brought out without a bag and can just walk down the elevator haha. He’s a good boy and never complains – he seems used to it already and doesn’t make a peep. Thank you so much for dropping me a comment! =)

      Reply
  3. Christine says

    January 26, 2015 at 8:16 AM

    Hello!
    I hope that you are still checking your blog! I just found your posts about DiploDog living in Jakarta. I’m considering moving to Jakarta with my Pekingese. He is quite furry, like DiploDog, and I was wondering how your dog dealt with the heat and humidity. Did he do ok?

    Reply
    • diplomaticwife says

      January 27, 2015 at 11:09 AM

      Moving with a dog to Jakarta was very difficult, despite having diplomatic status. They will quarantine your dog until you offer to pay a “service fee.” They wont ask for it, but if you offer the “fee” as soon as you arrive so that you can “home quarantine” your dog, then you can save your dog from the traumatic conditions of quarantine.

      Regarding the heat: In Jakarta we had our AC on all the time (mainly because of bad air pollution), but the times we left DiploDog on his own at home we always had the airconditioning on to prevent heat stroke. Also we would have his hair cut short.

      Dogs are also not allowed in most places in Jakarta so our poor DiploDog was always cooped up at home.

      Many people hire local household staff then they are in Jakarta because it is cheap compared to many countries. However we chose to bring our own household help from the Philippines because Muslim Indonesian maids/drivers will refuse to work for you if you have a dog, which is haram or unclean in their religions. Please be careful because there are some neighbours that will poison or kidnap your dog (to sell), while he is walking or accidentally get out of the house. However if you only keep your dog at home and do not need to take him for walks this should not be a problem.

      I know it all sounds so negative, but I just want you to know that having a dog in Jakarta can be very tricky and complicated so you can think about it with all the information in hand. Our dog was severely traumatized in Jakarta, aside from being attacked by another dog and almost dying, he also didn’t get to interact with other dogs. From being sociable to other dogs before he moved to Jakarta, now he gets really agitated with other dogs around.

      If you have a dog, a house is the least complicated option because dogs are usually not allowed in apartments and condominiums. For us we wanted to stay in an apartment for security reasons.

      We were lucky that we found an apartment landlord that would allow him, but we went through great lengths to keep him secret. And we basically had very limited choices on where to stay. Even if we wanted to move because our landlord kept raising our rent by 100 USD per month yearly, we couldn’t because we had no other choice. He was the only landlord we found that would allow us to keep our dog.

      Every Ramadan we would get a letter from the condo admin, saying we needed to get rid of our dog. We knew of other dogs in the same building which had to be given away. It was very sad. I think the only reason we were able to get away with it was because we had diplomatic status.

      If you ask me if I regret bringing our dog to Indonesia, I don’t because the thought of leaving him was not an option for us. I wish you all the best in this decision and I hope that I have shed a little light on the conditions for dogs in Jakarta.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Renting in Jakarta | The Diplomatic Wife says:
    October 17, 2013 at 5:10 PM

    […] We finally found 1 landlord in Brawijaya Apartment that allowed our dogs. He is Muslim, but because he was a customs official, he was rich and well-travelled (in fact his children ended up marrying in other parts of the world because they were sent to boarding school in Europe) so he didn’t mind dogs. We also made sure with the realtor who is connected with the apartments admin, that DiploDog was unofficially allowed, so if we had problems later on, she would help us. I also made sure that when DiploDog was taken for his walks he is well-hiden so as to be respectful … […]

    Reply
  2. JAKARTA GOOD TO KNOW: Expat Move | The Diplomatic Wife says:
    October 29, 2013 at 6:24 PM

    […] & STAFF I’ve already talked about how dogs aren’t allowed into many apartments HERE and HERE so if you do have a dog, find dog friendly apartments (those didn’t exist when we […]

    Reply

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Hello! I’m Ayessa, trailing spouse to a diplomat, mama to DiploBaby and DiploDog and founder of Declutter MNL. I love talking about how to achieve a minimaluxe lifestyle one step at a time.

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