Tomi de Taxis du Poet, noble truffle dog
Please allow me to introduce a very good friend of mine, Tomi (pronounced: Toe’me) de Taxis du Poet, noble truffle dog. He lives on a large wine estate near Vaison la Romaine in Provence.
Tomi is only two years old but last winter he found his very first truffle, roughly the size of a large golf ball weighing 300 grams.
When I saw him a couple of weeks ago, he had just returned from an outing with his master. No truffles. Lack of rain in the fall has made this an especially difficult season. Consequently, truffles are selling for 900 Euros per kilo at a local purveyor in Uzés.
For the past couple of weeks, the ground has been frozen in Tomi’s country. His master tells me that he and Tomi expect to go truffle hunting later this week when the weather warms.
If Tomi digs up a few of the precious Tuber melanosporum, I know he won’t let success go to his head.
He is one of the most loving and loyal dogs I know.
Bonne chance, mon ami.
