Bordeaux and Gironde are a “red zone” and whilst I have been avoiding it, I now have decided to overcome my reluctance and take our Airedale to the acupuncturist vet in Bordeaux tomorrow.
Does anyone know please, do I have to follow any protocols apart from the obvious social distancing and mask? I wondered if I needed an to download an attestation or anything?
@SuePJ - I also don’t understand what Red Zone means so in the meantime until someone gives a proper explanation - the Gironde Red Zone sounds very similar to my close proximity having spent the afternoon in our garden - I call it a healthy golden glowing tan, my family suggest I am always hideously sunburnt!
I hope you have a very small mask for your Airedale.
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No not really! Masks everywhere and there is also limits I think on opening hours of restaurants / bars etc as well but beyond that I’m not sure.
Ok found this:
dont l’abaissement de 5 000 à 1 000 du nombre maximum de personnes pouvant assister à des événements publics, comme des compétitions sportives, dans tout le département. Journées du patrimoine annulées, pas plus de 10 personnes rassemblées dans les parcs ou sur les quais, soirées dansantes interdites dans les bars ou pour un mariage, fêtes étudiantes annulées, sorties scolaires supendues, interdiction de consommer debout dans les bars, vestiaires fermés sauf dans les piscines, fêtes foraines, brocantes… interdites
An Airedale in France, that is rare, a related story -
Just after I got married (the first time) my wife said she wanted a dog but it had to be an Airedale and as with no breeders near us we had to travel 120 miles to find one. The breeder didn’t have any puppies but did have a six month old dog called Tosh, wife being the impatient type said ‘we’ll take him’ and we came home with said dog.
Now my wife had never had a dog before and not being the brightest it hadn’t occurred to her that young dogs get bigger and a fully grown male Airedale is a powerful animal (they were the first police dogs in the UK) and she simply couldn’t handle him so I had to do everything, not that I minded as he was a lovely dog and we became very close.
After having the dog for a year we sold our house and bought a larger new build with a tiny garden and she said Tosh had to go, there were other reasons such as he used to scare the living daylights out of MIL which I always saw as a positive but wife was adamant it was either him or her. Luckily I found him a good home with a work colleague but giving him away was one of the hardest things I ever had to do.
Spin on four years the wife left and I was very angry with myself, when I had the chance I should have ditched the wife and kept the dog!
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@tim17 Oooh Tim, that’s tough! Vita is our fifth Airedale.
23 years ago we were wanting to get another dog as we’d taken on my Mum’s elderly Jack Russell (super dogs as well) and OH started talking about getting Dobermans (he’d had them before he met me). He wanted a “proper” dog and one day I saw a beautifully behaved Airedale at the vet (if only I’d known) which OH agreed was a proper dog. That led to our finding our first two Dessie and Clara. Tragically within a matter of a couple of weeks both were on drips at the vets and Dessie died. We then took on Rosie. Knowing what I know now, I wouldn’t have had them while we were still working. Although my mother was living with us and they were hugely respectful of her zimmer frame, they really just remained their own pack. Rosie sadly died of liver cancer at 6, so by then being besotted with the breed we took on a rescue - Smudge. He had been unbelievably brutally treated but bore no malice to humans amazingly. He was the love of my life and he and Clara came with us to France, by then both elderly dogs. Smudge had been left very damaged by his early treatment and he was forever at the vets. One day, leaving the vets with him, two women jumped out of a car in front of me and exclaimed in French “Airedale, Airedale!!!” The older woman turned out to be a breeder - only 30 minutes drive from us near Villeneuve. With the passing of Clara and then Smudge, we went to her and Vita has been with us 11 years. She has the sweetest of temperaments and it’s going to be the hardest thing ever when she goes. We are absolutely her pack and I’m sure it’s because we had her on her own for a couple of years and we are retired so we are with her all the time. Then Bertie (a rescue mutt) joined us. Airedales are strong dogs and being terriers they have a serious will of their own. Fortunately Vita is totally food orientated so has been VERY biddable - for an Airedale!
In her youth I went onto an Airedale forum and discovered there was another Airedale owner about 40 minutes south of us with a beautiful male - he and Vita had play dates on a couple of occasions. Airedale play is something else! Unfortunately they left France. It turned out he and Vita were second cousins - the Airedale gene pool is small and the owners had found a breeder somewhere in northern France. Vita may well be our last, not sure in my mid seventies I’m going to be able to manage an Airedale sadly - although it may get easier in my 90s if I have a zimmer frame!!!
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You could downsize to a Lakeland?
We are not in a red zone, but our vet has strict rules…you stay in carpark until called, only one person with the dog, and one way system within surgery…
@JaneJones Nice thought, but I suspect Jane our next one will be another rescue mutt of some description. 
The Bordeaux vet is pretty much the same. They have two consulting rooms but they are only using one at a time at the moment and alternating between them, with the vacant room being thoroughly cleaned between appointments.
@SuePJ
Sue have you been with Vita to a café in Bergerac called ‘Flyaway’ in a pedestrian street off the ‘high street’ ?
Very funny though - about a year or possibly even 2 ago I sat there having my coffee next to a retired couple of britanniques with an Airedale bitch (ultra sweet, the Airedale bitch, I’m afraid I didn’t really notice the people as much).
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Dogs eh! A year or so back we went into a cafe about 50km away with our dog and a friend’s dog we were looking after. A woman came rushing up squealing, as the dog was a sibling/cousin of hers and she recognised the build, markings, etc etc. (A Bernese mountain dog which can be quite distinctive). She insisted we and said dog went round to hers…mad!
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Not a lot!!
just means they find bug in peoples noses really
then hit everyone with looney measures of reducing meetings from 5000 down to 1000, and other pointless actions, all to bury the fact they wanted drinking in the streets to stop…
good day to bury unwelcome news?
i read today, they found 10000 infections yesterday, 5000 more than the previous day, but only a very small number needing hospital, even less in ICU…
Despite washing mitts, distancing, muzzles, etc… they’re finding more infections…
so that means the bug is out there en mass, probably has been for a long time… no second wave, just they can now see the first one by testing where they were unable to in spring?
Can you please post your medical / epidemiologist qualifications please Bob then we know how much attention to pay to your pronouncements
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Muzzles…?
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I think it’s meant to be a funny reference to masks. There’s a few popping up at the moment who feel their not wanting to be inconvenienced is more important than peoples lives
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Ah, gotcha… thanks, Eddie.
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Lol