The only way I could sleep in my own bed—alone or otherwise—was if I had my dogs with me. Back then, I had two sweet teacup Pomeranians: Sebastian (named after Ryan Phillippe’s character in Cruel Intentions) and Dolce (self-explanatory). They weren’t trained as such, but these were therapy dogs in the truest sense. All that CEDU “emotional growth” BS left me with an abiding fear of human therapists, and I thought I’d die if any of my friends or cousins knew what had really happened to me. My dogs were my support network.
