A baby in a white onesie lies on a light golden-furred adult Golden Retriever dog in a bedroom with natural daylight streaming through an unseen window. 3:11
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How a golden retriever helped raise a gentle boy

The day baby Carter came home from the hospital, Harlow the golden retriever met him wagging her tail and smiling. more

She wanted to say hello. What came out was one nervous lick and a couple of sniffs. Soon, though, Harlow took on a new job as the family's nanny dog, lying near the baby all day long.

A baby in a stroller leans toward Harlow, who has her mouth open; both face the same direction. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Harlow keeps close to the baby, settling into her new role.

Carter was about 8 months old, a chubby little baby who could just sit up, when he picked a tennis ball up off the floor and threw it. Harlow was happy to play, and he could tell this was their game. They had no words in common, and it didn't seem to matter one bit.

Then came the wagon. On family walks around the block, Carter rode in the wagon with Harlow beside him. They bounced on the trampoline together too, and Carter, a rough and tumble boy, loved getting bounced around until he burst out laughing.

As Carter got braver on his feet, he started walking Harlow. When he turned 2, the jobs began to switch. He helped feed her, and he opened the door so she could go out to the backyard. He gave her baths.

Then the family brought home a baby girl. Carter sat on the couch and they put his sister in his lap, a little person holding an even smaller one. By 3 he had learned from Harlow how to be gentle, how to share and how to be responsible. And from her he learned how to be a big brother.

A baby in a white onesie lies on a light golden-furred adult Golden Retriever dog in a bedroom with natural daylight streaming through an unseen window. The headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
The day baby Carter came home from the hospital, Harlow the golden retriever met him wagging her tail and smiling.

Harlow is, as her family puts it, the glue of the family. On her birthday she sits calmly in a birthday kerchief while Carter sings Happy Birthday to her. There's cake on the table, and she has noticed.

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