Todd Carson needed a job, any job, after being unemployed for a year and a half.
So he walked into Dubai Kennels & Cattery in Dubai and offered to work for free.
"I thought, like many people, animals were going to be [my] salvation," he says.
"I said, 'Can I help out for a while until I can find a 'real' job? And I haven't left," adds Mr Carson, who is now a managing partner at the business.
That was back in 2002, when the boom in Dubai was just beginning. Over several years, the business profited from the rapid expansion of the emirate and grew by about 30 per cent a year.
In June 2006, Kennels & Cattery was getting so busy Mr Carson decided not to take any more animal shipping inquiries - a decision that cost the business an estimated Dh500,000 (US$136,124) in net profit that summer.
"If I had taken in that business I would have killed my staff," says Mr Carson. "They wouldn't have been able to cope."
But he is the first to acknowledge it did not have to be that way. "We take the care of animals very seriously," he says.
"It is extremely hard to find people who are interested in working with animals who are not thinking like Paris Hilton," adds Mr Carson. By that, he means it is not that people who adore their pets are doing the wrong thing but caring for animals is a lot more than whether or not they have their own plasma televisions to watch or jewel-studded collars to wear.
Animal handlers are not allowed to work independently at Dubai Kennels & Cattery until they have been trained for at least three months. And it takes more than a year to fully finish training. "I have people here who have so much experience and are trained so highly that we - before others - are able to identify health problems with animals," says Mr Carson.
Health problems are just as possible with a big cat transiting through the airport as they are with a small one boarding in Kennels & Cattery's premises near Festival City in Dubai.
"Just a couple of days ago we oversaw a shipment of two adult lions from Africa going to Prague and one of them ... had injured himself in the cage so we were involved in determining whether or not they should get care or fly on," says Mr Carson.
Animal handlers from the business decided along with wildlife experts that the injuries were not life-threatening and it was better for the lion to continue on his way. In the end, he arrived safely.
The shipment of the lions was not organised through Dubai Kennels & Cattery, but the business recently oversaw the import of penguins, which are now at the Mall of the Emirates. It imports a lot more domesticated animals, although there have been fewer of them in recent years.
In 2009, the business experienced a dip of about 35 per cent in animal imports and an increase of about 20 per cent in exports. Both numbers have remained at the same level since then. "We had a couple of bad years," says Mr Carson.
"The last couple of years have been profitable again. But … we're not dripping in cash."
gduncan@thenational.ae
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
THREE
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
How Voiss turns words to speech
The device has a screen reader or software that monitors what happens on the screen
The screen reader sends the text to the speech synthesiser
This converts to audio whatever it receives from screen reader, so the person can hear what is happening on the screen
A VOISS computer costs between $200 and $250 depending on memory card capacity that ranges from 32GB to 128GB
The speech synthesisers VOISS develops are free
Subsequent computer versions will include improvements such as wireless keyboards
Arabic voice in affordable talking computer to be added next year to English, Portuguese, and Spanish synthesiser
Partnerships planned during Expo 2020 Dubai to add more languages
At least 2.2 billion people globally have a vision impairment or blindness
More than 90 per cent live in developing countries
The Long-term aim of VOISS to reach the technology to people in poor countries with workshops that teach them to build their own device
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The%20specs
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What is type-1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is a genetic and unavoidable condition, rather than the lifestyle-related type 2 diabetes.
It occurs mostly in people under 40 and a result of the pancreas failing to produce enough insulin to regulate blood sugars.
Too much or too little blood sugar can result in an attack where sufferers lose consciousness in serious cases.
Being overweight or obese increases the chances of developing the more common type 2 diabetes.
WHAT%20MACRO%20FACTORS%20ARE%20IMPACTING%20META%20TECH%20MARKETS%3F
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Company%20Profile
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RESULTS
Main card
Bantamweight 56.4kg: Mehdi Eljamari (MAR) beat Abrorbek Madiminbekov (UZB), Split points decision
Super heavyweight 94 kg: Adnan Mohammad (IRN) beat Mohammed Ajaraam (MAR), Split points decision
Lightweight 60kg: Zakaria Eljamari (UAE) beat Faridoon Alik Zai (AFG), RSC round 3
Light heavyweight 81.4kg: Taha Marrouni (MAR) beat Mahmood Amin (EGY), Unanimous points decision
Light welterweight 64.5kg: Siyovush Gulmamadov (TJK) beat Nouredine Samir (UAE), Unanimous points decision
Light heavyweight 81.4kg: Ilyass Habibali (UAE) beat Haroun Baka (ALG), KO second round
The biog
Favourite hobby: taking his rescue dog, Sally, for long walks.
Favourite book: anything by Stephen King, although he said the films rarely match the quality of the books
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption stands out as his favourite movie, a classic King novella
Favourite music: “I have a wide and varied music taste, so it would be unfair to pick a single song from blues to rock as a favourite"
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
THE APPRENTICE
Director: Ali Abbasi
Starring: Sebastian Stan, Maria Bakalova, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 3/5
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Indoor Cricket World Cup Dubai 2017
Venue Insportz, Dubai; Admission Free
Fixtures - Open Men 2pm: India v New Zealand, Malaysia v UAE, Singapore v South Africa, Sri Lanka v England; 8pm: Australia v Singapore, India v Sri Lanka, England v Malaysia, New Zealand v South Africa
Fixtures - Open Women Noon: New Zealand v England, UAE v Australia; 6pm: England v South Africa, New Zealand v Australia
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The%C2%A0specs%20
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TECH%20SPECS%3A%20APPLE%20IPHONE%2014%20PLUS
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Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Torbal Rayeh Wa Jayeh
Starring: Ali El Ghoureir, Khalil El Roumeithy, Mostafa Abo Seria
Stars: 3
