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.

on my knee while Dr. Ortiz watched my fingers slow slightly against the armrest.

He smiled.

“Well,” he said, “she makes a compelling argument.”

At home, our routines formed gently.

I took my morning pills at seven. Mabel took hers at seven-oh-five, because she believed cheese should follow medicine. We walked to the mailbox at eight — a trip that had once continue reading …