Chapter 6 - Callum Was Not Injured
This matters.
Callum had no major physical injury from any kennel incident.
No broken bones.
No dog bite.
No starvation.
No overnight confinement.
No graphic cruelty.
That did not make it acceptable.
His pediatrician documented acute anxiety.
Sleep disturbance.
Fear of enclosed wire spaces.
Increased dog fear.
He also began asking:
“Is this punishment?”
whenever a door closed.
That was the harm.
At school he refused to enter a fenced playground court during gym.
The teacher called.
He would not explain.
Later:
“It has cage walls.”
Chain-link fence.
Ordinary.
His nervous system did not care.
We did not force him in.
We also did not remove every fence from his life.
Dr. Bell worked slowly.
Naming.
Choice.
Exit routes.
She told us:
“Callum needs to relearn that an enclosure is not automatically a trap and that adults do not control access to safety as punishment.”
Rafferty wrote that sentence down.
He kept writing during therapy.
I resented him for it initially.
Then realized he was trying to learn.
May you like
Not perform.
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