John Steinbeck's poodle,name of-Charlie,came from Bercy,France.Didn't seem to do Steinbeck any harm.On the contrary,Charlie was pretty good at making friends,wandering over to where other people were maybe camped,and intoducing himself, leaving Steinbeck to wander over a little later to "retrieve" his dog,and then find to his "surprise" that he would be invited to pass the evening with these people.Might just reread that book.