Arcas' Stories
By Simona Muwazi/2001
Published earlier on EuroPudel Spezial/2001
We used to live in Europe before, but it has now been 8 whole years since we moved to Uganda, Africa. And to tell you the truth, it was a wonderful decision!
Uganda is found in Eastern Africa, and is the smallest of the Three East African countries, with a total population of about 20 million people. The climate here is very gentle, with only a wet and dry season, and no winter. The temperatures are also warm throughout the year, never below 15C (= 59F). Thanks to this, the vegetation is also very lush and beautiful. A cactus that grows to just a few inches in Europe will grow into a tree here, and the flowers end up growing into bushes.
We live in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. It was originally built in seven hills, though it has expanded since. The word "Kampala" comes from "Impala". Impala is smallish, beautiful deer and are very common here in Uganda, and can still be found in plenty on the outskirts of town, along with some hares, squirrels, duiker, kudu and few small predators like servals and even the occasional hyena or lion.
When it comes to talking about poodles, first of all, a big, hearty thank you to Mrs. Angelica Zacharias for selling us her beautiful Tamaris Vom Goldene Steichen and to Ms. Anne Leskinen of Finland for selling us Biscuit Bishop's Arcas. It took us a lot of trouble to get these two standard poodles. As soon as we would send request by e-mail, most breeders straight away refused to sell us their dogs, and some didn't even reply. I guess most people still think that Africa is a place full of cannibals and man-eating lions!
Regretfully, we wont be able to show our poodles. There are very few pure-bred dogs here in Uganda, maybe 100, 120 at most. Much of the pet culture was lost on Idi Amin's regime during the 1970's and early 80's, and is only now starting to pick up pace. All the dog shows here are purely for fun, as most of the dogs shown are not pedigreed. Poodles, however, seem to be very intelligent, affectionate and playful dogs, and they have made a wonderfull addition to our family. Even though we can't show them, just having them around as a part of our family is pleasure enough. The situation is changing very fast, though. Maybe there will be proper shows in future. And if there are, we'll show our poodles, to the delight of both us and their breeders.
Best wishes to all of you poodle breeders, owners and fans in Europe!
to the next story