I don’t dare walk into the dentist’s office in Cambridge without Red, they might toss me out. Red simply accompanies me through life, and fortunately, I live in a place where that is not only permitted, but celebrated. The Cambridge Dental Care office checks with each of the patients when Red comes in – he is a trained and certified therapy dog – and he visits people in the cubicles if they wish and then lies down outside the cubicle where I am being seen.

“I’d much rather see Red than a dentist,” one patient said. He lifts the spirits there, as he does in cardiac rehab and with the veterans we see.