Day 81 14.6.23

Castellina in Chianti to Modena

Modena was on the way to Milan, so we thought we’d stop there for a bit of a look around and then move closer to Milan for the night.

Our plans were scuppered when we parked in Modena. The space was about 10 mins walk from the centre of town, perfect, and as I was securing the van, Gareth took Meg for a wee.

He came back with her in his arms. She was looking very sorry for herself and wouldn’t put her front right paw down. We couldn’t see a cut or entry wound, so we went back to where they were walking and saw a bee on the floor that had lost its stinger .

For flips sake! She has done so well not getting stung all this trip, it was too good to be true.

We do carry steroid tablets and an EpiPen for her but it’s always best to see a vet if there’s one available. Today we were in luck, there was one not closed for lunch just around the corner – though too far to carry her in the heat.

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We quickly packed the van back up and drove to the vet. I ran in and asked if they could see her, Yes they could, so went back outside to bring her in.

Gareth then, bless him, found somewhere to park and came to join us. The vets were brilliant. They gave her a quick check and then a steroid injection. Meg was very docile and didn’t flinch, we think she was in some pain. When I put her on the floor she didn’t know what to do with herself.

The vet gave us their number in case we needed it and asked to see her in the morning. When we asked how much we owed them, they refused to take payment. Well, already a bit emotional, it brought a to my eye. Gareth popped €20 in the charity pot instead.

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What it also meant was, we couldn’t take her around Modena and we couldn’t move on. Instead, we found a better place to park – not so many trees – and kept an eye on her.

After a couple of hours she was back to normal and peeing for England! When she was perky and the heat had dropped a bit (35° in the van today) we took her for a short walk, wandering up past the Maserati building and had a well deserved glass of wine.

On the way back we bought a calzone and ate it with salad in the van.

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