"It's fine," Laura said. "While he's technically on duty while we're home, we've always relaxed the 'no attention' rule when we're here. Kind of silly to do otherwise, or the poor guy would never get any down time."

Caitlyn moved closer to the big Lab, knelt down and put her hand out for sniffing. Billy stood up and politely investigated her hand and then sat down. Caitlyn gave him some expert ear rubbing, and the dog leaned into her hand. A moment later, he lay down, exposing his belly for petting. She chuckled and obliged, completely relaxed with the dog.

"You've just made a friend for life," Laura said, a smile in her voice.

Paul came back from the kitchen, and we made our goodbyes. Laura reiterated...

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