My Therapist's Dog: Lessons in Unconditional Love

Diana Wells's intriguing exploration into the rewards of relationships—both the canine and human varieties—begins when she reluctantly starts seeing a psychologist, Beth, during a difficult time in her life. With no insurance to pay for counseling, a barter is arranged in which the client becomes part-time caretaker to the therapist's dog, Luggs, a sweet, clumsy black Labrador retriever.

As Wells examines her past—her peripatetic childhood, her eccentric family, her grief over the deaths of...