Animal Diaries Archive

Dental hygiene

20 July 2007

Hello and welcome to another week in the Exotics Section. My name is Teela and I am a dromedary camel. This week I want to share with you a secret about being in exotics. We have trained our servants, they call themselves keepers, but we all know that they are only here to serve my every need or whim. Once in a while they get a little carried away with trying to make our lives comfortable, safe and healthy. Not too long ago the bossy one who calls herself "Deb", and thinks she is in charge, decided that I needed to have something she called "dental hygiene". She introduced a skinny little stick with the end all frayed and fuzzy with some white goop, the texture of tree sap and tasting of meadow herbs called mint and set to work. Next she stuck the skinny, fuzzy, goopy stick in my mouth and started running the stick over my bottom teeth. At first I was shocked that she would dare to do this, but I tolerated this as it felt kinda good.

I have learned to humour Deb, as the secret to letting her take care of me always ends in something good to eat.
So if you are ever at the camel yard late afternoon and see my teeth being brushed, you will know my secret and be able to grin, knowing that even though the servants think they are the boss, I am just humouring them so I get all my tasty treats.