Appearances can be deceptive

Abstract

In the early 1970s, I dropped out of medical practice and went walk about in Mexico and Central America. On returning, I went into practice in a small Natal Midlands town, but I retained my long hair and beard from my hippie excursion. One Saturday, my family weren't at home and I was in the garden, digging away in a shabby shirt and a pair of ragged old trousers, when the teenage girl from next door came over to say that her family had also gone out and that their dog was sick. Would I have a look at it?