Wilf's take on life :"The only way to have a friend is to be one".

Two decidedly unhappy boyz this morning. We set off for the morning walk at six, but had gone no more than three hundred metres when my ever observant partner noticed that the soft white sand along the farm track was covered in snake trails. There must be a large vipers nest somewhere in the long grass under the olives. This is the time of the year when the snakes are laying eggs or rearing their young and the sudden burst of warmth makes them decidedly feisty. For some reason it is impossible to buy the snake venom antidote in Italy - the two alternatives a dog owner here faces are either a trip to Switzerland where the antidote is still sold or a mad dash to the vet. We have a snake bite kit that requires you to pull out the poison using a vacuum plunger - I have zero faith that it would work. The boyz were quickly called back from their ramble and have been confined to the garden for their own safety. I've found some blogs like vetblog (http://www.tovet.blogspot.com/) and dogsdeservefreedom(http://www.dogsdeservefreedom.blogspot.com/) to be really helpful when faced with new and unexpected threats to our canine friends.