But overcome he did and, when he returned to Mauritius, Lady was in perfect shape, had put on weight and had had her medical problems rectified. She remembered Joe immediately when he went to see her in Réduit and he has been overjoyed by the amount of care and attention Lady has received. “I have only come across helpful people”, says Joe and he is especially grateful to the people at the MSPCA who facilitated the paperwork necessary for Lady’s trip.

There was one wrench thrown into his plans, however. Believing he had completed all the paper work necessary, he arrived here only to discover that England would refuse his entry with Lady. It seems that although Mauritius and England are rabies free, the direct flight would take him and Lady over countries which are not. The only way to get Lady into England would be to land in Paris (not rabies free) and travel back to England.

Undaunted as ever, Joe changed his flight plans and they arrived in Paris at 17:25 local time. Joe says he had his heart in his throat as he handed the paperwork to the receptionist and had it faxed to England. To his horror, the fax came back refusing Lady’s entry. He stared at the form in disbelief and at the handwritten annotation. “Your tick and tapeworm treatment has expired and should have been administered by a veterinarian 24 hours prior to travel.”

“I called England in a panic, but they stood firm. We were to find a veterinarian and comply or Lady would be refused entry”, says Joe incredulous. “The train to the tunnel would board at 22.00 hours, where would I find a vet at this time? Needless to say, he missed his train and incurred the expenses.

Luckily the receptionist helped Joe to find and call a local vet and even helped him to make arrangements for him and Lady to stay the night in a farm house. The tick and tapeworm treatment administered by the French vet consisted in placing a pill in a piece of sausage and offering it to Lady. For that they had missed their train !! In a matter of seconds the vet issued an EU approved PET Passport and even mentioned that he could not understand why authorities had insisted in transmitting them through France.

It was late by now, around 22:00 hours, and the vet was kind enough to drive them to the farm (he was a friend of the farmers). Joe had to cancel his arranged drive and reschedule his pick-up for the next night. And this is how Joe and Lady spent a night in a farm house in the French countryside. The next day, Joe and Lady strolled through the lovely French countryside, relaxed in the garden and even helped Alison, the farmers wife, to plant a few roses in her garden.

The rest of the trip was uneventful and as Joe puts it “Lady has never looked back” and she and Joe are now a familiar sight in the Sussex villages where he shops and on the long walks in the countryside with his four other dogs. Actually, Lady is only part of Joe’s extended family. Joe has a tortoise and also cares for 55 assorted parrots and has many connections with similar animal lovers. (He told one story of being invited for tea only to have the hosts insist that their 16 real live cheetahs (part of an animal shelter) join them. (The English take their tea time a lot more seriously!)

Joe laughingly promises that he will send us a picture of Lady snoozing in front of a roaring Sussex fireplace wearing a diamond studded collar. And just when you think the story couldn’t get any better, this 49 year old private airline steward makes an announcement that he would like to do something more. “I don’t want to tell the Mauritians how to care for their animals or how to solve their stray animal problems. I want them to take the problem into their hands and apply the necessary decisions. I want to help them with the funds necessary to realize their dreams”.

Joe goes on to give an overview of a trust fund he is thinking of creating which will include things like an all-night animal hospital, stray dog management and humanitarian elimination, easier access to sterilization and education.

Thank you again Joe. Where is the queen of England when you need her? If she’s handing out any knighthoods, someone should whisper in her ear. Thank you Joe. Your childlike unwillingness to accept no for an answer inspires all of us to dream of achieving the impossible. Your dreams speak for the ones who cannot speak for themselves! If only there were more of you!

<B>Angela KEESSOONDYAL</B>