Sometime during the seventh grade two things happened to me. The first was that I got hooked on salami (腊肠). The other thing was that my mom and I weren’t getting along really well. We weren’t fighting really badly or anything, but we didn’t laugh together much anymore. Things were changing, and my mom and I were the first to feel it.

As far as the salami went, my mom wouldn’t buy any because she said it was too expensive and not that good for me. To prove my emerging independence, one day I used my pocket money to buy a full sausage of dry salami. I didn’t want my mom to see it. So I hid it in the only place that I knew was totally safe — under my bed. There was a special corner under the bed that the upright hoover couldn’t reach. Under the bed went the salami, back in the corner — in the dark and the dust.

A couple of weeks later, I remembered the delicious treat that was waiting for me. I peered beneath the bed and saw... not the salami that I had hidden, but some green and hairy object that didn’t like anything that I had ever seen before. The salami had grown about an inch of hair, and the hair was standing straight up, as if the salami had been surprised by the sudden appearance of my face next to its hiding place. Being a picky eater, I was not interested in consuming any of this object.

Some time later, my mom became obsessed with spring cleaning, which in her case meant she would clean places that had never seen the light of day. I knew in my heart that the moment would soon come when she would find the object in its hiding place. During the first two days of her cleaning, I watched carefully to judge the time when I thought she would find the salami, She washed, she scrubbed, she dusted... she screamed! “Ahhhhhh... ahhhhh... ahhhhh!” The screams were coming from my room. Alarms went off in my head. She had found the salami!

“What is it, Mom?” I yelled as I ran into my room.

When my mom continued pushing it hard, I finally burst out laughing.

Since I began introducing animals into my child psychotherapy(心理治疗) practice fifteen years ago, my life as a doctor has been full of wonders. Animals always help me in my work communicating with children in need.

Diane, a dark-haired five-year-old, came to me with a problem. Although she was a chatterbox(话匣子) in the house and with her family, no one had ever heard Diane say a word outside her home environment. Not one word. Diane’s parents tried to work with her to overcome her selective mutism(缄默症). Yet nothing they did seemed to make any impression on her. Diane refused to talk when she was outside her family circle.

Diane’s parents contacted me and I agreed to see her. It was a Friday afternoon. They were seated in the waiting room when my six-year-old dog, Puppy, and I walked out to greet them. Diane sat with her head down, making no move to look up or acknowledge our entrance.

Puppy went straight towards Diane. Because Diane’s head was bowed, Puppy was just three feet from Diane when the girl finally caught sight of her. Startled by the unexpected sight of a large golden dog, the girl’s eyes became huge and then her mouth curved slowly into a smile. Puppy stopped directly in front of Diane and laid her head in the girl’s lap.

I introduced myself and Puppy, but Diane didn’t respond. Instead, she began to silently pet Puppy’s head, running her hands softly over Puppy’s ears and nose. She was still obviously nervous at my office, but she was smiling and seemed to be enjoying her interaction with Puppy. I was speaking quietly with Diane’s parents when an idea hit me.

I spoke Puppy’s name quietly and gave her a hand signal to come toward me and continue back into the inner office. Puppy immediately started walking toward me. As Puppy walked away, I watched Diane’s face fall and her eyes take on a sad and disappointed look. I said, “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you wanted Puppy to stay with you. All you have to do for her to come back is say, ‘Puppy, come.’”

I woke up earlier than my brother as every other day of the week. I jumped out of the bed, got dressed, brushed my teeth, and had breakfast. Saying good bye to my mother, I got in the car no later than 7:05. I got to school on time, even though my brother came out of the house late as he used to.

It was a Thursday. I was walking to the chemistry rooms when my phone in my left pocket vibrated(震动). I took it out and looked at the shiny screen. As soon as I saw my father’s name on that screen I realized something was not right.

He would not call me in the middle of a school day just to talk. He would want me to focus in school and do well. I answered the phone, and my father sounded worried. He told me to find my brother as soon as possible, walk with him to the school picking-up zone and get in the car with my brother. Our driver would take us back home where my father was.

When I was in the car with my brother my dad called the driver and told him to take us to the hospital. We were going to meet him and my mum there. As soon as my brother and I found about the change in plans, we looked at each other in the eyes. I immediately noticed the fear in brother’s eyes.

To be honest, I was really scared too, probably more than he was. But I did not say anything. We arrived at the hospital. I saw my dad on the phone waiting for us at the entrance. He was smoking. Seeing my dad smoking made me more worried. I had never seen him smoke before. He hated it. As soon as he recognized the white car, he threw the cigarette away. I looked at my brother; he was looking out of the other window. I did not tell him what I just saw. I did not want him to worry.

The car stopped right in front of my dad.

We walked down the hall with our eyes closed.