Sunday 14 October 2007

Reaching for Help

Crises show us the value of the English network here in France. While we may not want to be part of it every day, there are times when we bless it.

Smudge had a really bad allergic reaction to …. harvest mites maybe? He licked himself raw, getting more and more frantic. We thought we could control it, but it reached the stage we urgently needed a vet’s help. Yet we don’t have the language skills to explain Smudge’s complex history to a local French vet.

An English forum here gave me the email address of an animal website, they in turn gave me the name of an English vet whom I emailed Saturday morning. By the afternoon she'd arrived, children in tow, having driven over an hour to bring help and practical words of advice not only about itchy dogs but also about living in France. Knowing that our move here has prompted Smudge's distress I'm riddled with guilt. Her reassurance calms me as much as the dog.

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