As is our family custom, I let Rachel do all the work, making all the inquiries with local kennels and breeders. Diligent as always, she called a half dozen places and interviewed them all, trying to get a feel for who was in it just for the money, and who really cared about the dogs. She quickly winnowed the field to a single candidate, Brigitte Leahy a 60-ish Czech woman who lived way out in some place called Dellwood. Brigitte's main concern was Rachel's and Jonathan's allergies.
Most allergic people can be with poodles.
This woman was allergic even to poodles. The children were heartbroken. To forestall that happening again, Brigitte required that Rachel call a Seminole natural healer that she knew in Minneapolis named Tismal. Tismal practiced herbal healing techniques on both humans and animals. To please Brigitte, and to appear to be a better candidate than the other allergic woman, Rachel called him.