My yellow labrador Callie likes me, but she doesn’t love me. She’ll cuddle with anyone in the family but me, and it really bothers me.

We think it’s because I am the one who puts drops and ointment in her right ear when a recurring infection starts bothering her. My husband, Peter, suggested that she might love me if someone else had “ear duty,” but I know my dog. She has a good memory. She cowers when I walk into the kitchen, the place where I first administered the ear drops 3 years ago. There is no point in making her nervous about anyone else in the family.

Callie before ear drops

Our last dog, a black lab named  Katie, followed me everywhere. She look naps with me an looked after me when I was sick or sad. When Matthew had a meltdown and I cried, she licked me sypatetically. When my mother died, Katie was the first one to comfort me. Katie loved me.

I’d been thinking about getting another dog–a black lab puppy–until I read this article in the New York Times.

You all see the parallel, of course.

So I am going to accept Callie for who she is. And if a nice black lab find me someday, that will be just fine.

Laura

www.laurashumaker.com

I'm a fifth generation Californian and live in the San Francisco Area with my husband and three sons. My oldest, Matthew, is autistic and I've been writing about my experience raising him from babyhood to young adulthood for about 4 years. I've read my stories on NPR and published them in magazines, newspapers and anthologies, including Voices of Autism. My book A Regular Guy: Growing up with Autism is available at Amazon.

Laura

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