Christine Barron RES’98 F’00, MD, says she “dreaded” her rotation in child abuse pediatrics during residency 30 years ago. Now it’s her life’s work. “This is sometimes a field that actually chooses you,” says Barron, a professor of pediatrics and director of the Lawrence A. Aubin Sr. Child Protection Center at Hasbro Children’s Hospital. She loves solving the “clinical puzzle” of whether a case is, in fact, abuse; 40 percent of the time, it’s not. She loves working with other professionals, like social workers, police, prosecutors—and, since 2018, one very special canine. CALI, an Australian labradoodle, serves in both the Aubin Center and the Cranston Police Department. “It’s been an awesome partnership,” Barron says. “I very rarely can take her anywhere where someone doesn’t know her,” because so many kids meet CALI with her other handler, Detective Michael Iacone, around town. Those who see her again in Barron’s clinic take comfort in a familiar furry face. “They sit in the chair with her, they’ll do some coloring or do Play-Doh or Legos … and they’ll get to pet her while they’re talking with us,” Barron says. CALI is, of course, a very good girl; if she doesn’t listen to Barron, there’s a good reason. Barron remembers a distressed dad whose side CALI would not leave. “I was at the door, and she kept looking at him, and looking at me,” she says. “He said to me, do you think she knows I’m anxious? And I was like, yes.”
Tail-blazer
CALI’s name stands for Cranston Police Department, Aubin Center, Leadership in Innovation—in recognition of the first police-hospital comfort therapy dog collaboration in the US.
No Tricks
CALI comes when called, sits, and gives paw. But “she will never roll over,” Barron says, and she’s not motivated by treats. “She just wants to be pet.”
Zoomies to Zen
Even therapy dogs need a break. “When she has had a really emotional case, I let her outside and she just runs,”
Barron says. “She’s chasing squirrels and bunnies and barking and doing all the fun stuff.”
Caring for the Pack
Barron and her team put emotion aside while evaluating a case. Then they debrief and process together—and with CALI. “She absolutely has been amazing for all of the staff,” Barron says.
Force for Good
As associate director of the only child abuse pediatrics fellowship in New England, Barron knows her field “is not for everyone. … But I have had an amazing opportunity to work with folks who are very dedicated to ensuring the safety of children.”