I have lived with dogs since I was sixteen.

I deliberately did not write that I have a dog. Because for me, it has never been about ownership. It has always been about sharing a life together.

Not everyone understands this. Some call it a dog cult. They ask me whom I would save first: a human being or an animal?

But why should I have to choose?

What would stop me from choosing both? And why shouldn't a plant, a forest, a river, a lake, and the Earth itself be just as important to me?

Why do we have to pit different forms of life against one another and rank their value?

All of this is our world.

And this is precisely where we lose our way: when we think that everything exists for us. Yet we, too, are part of this life. We do not stand above it. We live within it.

These are not separate pieces of existence from which we can decide which is more valuable. They are interconnected forms of life, building upon one another, sustaining and supporting one another.

We treat the world very differently when we approach it with humility and respect for that which embraces us, nourishes us, and keeps us alive.

To love means to take responsibility.

Not simply to acquire something, use it, call it our own, and then abandon it when it becomes inconvenient, demands too much care, or is no longer needed.

This is true of an animal. It is true of a human being. And it is true of the world we depend on for our lives.

To a dog, you are everything. Your social status, your bank balance, your achievements, or how many people consider you important mean nothing to them.

They know your voice. Your footsteps. Your scent. They notice when something inside you changes. They lie beside you. Lean against you. Wait for you.

Trust has been part of us since time immemorial. So has unconditional love.

And perhaps it is not that we humans need to learn how to love from them, but rather that we should simply rest our heads together and allow ourselves to be immersed in that feeling.

Through them, we can remember something we once knew.

That love is not ownership. And that connection is so much more than exploitation.

Caring means taking responsibility for what places its trust in us. And also taking responsibility for what we have chosen.

Sometimes, words truly are not necessary.

All it takes is looking into a dog's eyes.

And remembering.

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