Animals can do so much for children. When Emma told me she was going to find a dog for Robin, I winced. She had so much to do, did she really need that?

But she saw what Sandy could do for Robin, who is my granddaughter. How the dog could take her out of herself. How it could teach her how to love and to worry about something living other than herself.

How Sandy could comfort her and keep her, an only child, from being lonely. Sandy gave her something to live that wasn’t a device, but a living being who needed care and consideration.

The two have become friends, looking out for one another Emma is a good mother. Of course, she is the one who gets up early every morning to take Sandy to the park for some exercise.

We all know that story. When they get back from the park, Sandy jumps into Bed to be with Robin.