If you’re on the fence about inviting a dog into your life, I hope what I share here helps tip the scales for you. My relationship with dogs didn’t start off cuddly and soft. When I was 8 years old, I was bitten by a German Shepherd that had rabies. It was a deeply traumatic experience complete with hospitalization and a lot of shots. That experience stayed with me for years in the form of paralyzing fear. Yet, underneath that fear, I always wished I could get over the trauma of the bite and enjoy a dog as a pet. I was skittish. After more than two decades of contemplation, I worked up the nerve to bring a yorkshire terrier puppy into my life. I chose a Yorkie because he felt small, manageable, and non-threatening. He was only 1 pound when I brought him home. What I could have never predicted was how profoundly Gizmo would support my mental health. Not in a dramatic, ‘the earth shook’ kind of way, but in quiet moments of …