An elderly man living with Parkinson’s discovered a shivering senior dog at his gate — and somehow, their unsteady bodies became a source of calm for one another.

Maybe she’s like a therapy dog.”

“She’s an old dog who likes a warm lap.”

“But if it helps—”

“It helps,” I said. “But it isn’t a cure.”

I needed that understood.

Parkinson’s didn’t leave because a dog arrived. My medication still mattered. My neurologist still mattered. Exercise still mattered, though I felt that last category got unfairly overemphasized.continue reading …