Panic....

I had a very worrying afternoon yesterday. I noticed that our autistic dog, Jonty, was rubbing his face. His lips were swollen and his eyes were beginning to close. I'm allergic to wasps and this is how I go when I've been stung, so I gave him some anti-histamine. Then I remembered that it is the season for hairy processional caterpillars to come down from their nests and start moving in a long train. Their hairs are highly poisonous - especially to dogs and can easily be fatal if a dog has sniffed or touched the hairs. I went into instant panic. 

The obvious thing was to drive Jonty straight to the vet, but he absolutely hates the vet and is quite likely to bite him/her. However, I decided that we really had to go, so I drove him the twenty stressful minutes it takes to get to our vet. I left Jonty in the car and went in to speak to the lovely Tomas. I went through the symptoms. He asked if his tongue was swollen. No. Did I think the anti-histamine was having any effect. Yes. I showed him this photo. 'Ah, ça c'est une piqure de guêpe.'  That's a wasp sting. To say I was relieved is an understatement. No vets were harmed in the process of this diagnosis and Jonty is as right as rain today.