If you ask me what the one thing I'd save in a fire would be, I'd automatically answer: my dog. What's the best medication for my darkest days? Cuddling with my doggo. Who do I miss the most when I'm away at college? Mi perro. What makes my boyfriend grimace with jealousy? The thought of my dog sleeping next to me every night.

Everyone close to me is aware of my obsession with Rudy, my little white Cockapoo love muffin. In addition to my canine obsession, my mom believes that God instilled a radar in my brain which detects the presence of a four-legged entity of goodness from a mile away. I FaceTime my family back at home just to see Rudy. While my roommate hung collages of her good friends and sorority sisters, I posted over fifteen pictures of Rudy by the front door. Though some may deem my infatuation insane or absurd, I consider myself blessed to foster such a deep love and connection to dogs.

While enjoying dinner on the patio of Mon Ami Gabi with my mom, I spent the majority of the night smiling and gawking over the two Corgis panting in the grass nearby. Perturbed, my mom decided to succumb to my obsession and gear the conversation towards something dog-related. We eventually wondered why dogs don't live as long as humans. As someone who has never had to face the cruelty of putting a dog down, or had to witness a severe decline in his or her health, I fear the day Rudy's life must continue in Heaven. Why did God decide to create a shorter lifespan for dogs? What exactly was He thinking when he accomplished His greatest creation to this day? Why must I say goodbye to someone who loved me so unconditionally, more than I deserved, so soon?

What most people fail to realize or understand, myself included, is how blessed we are to witness loyalty and love in its purest form: the unconditional love of a dog. Each time I leave the house, my doggo sits at the window by the front door and watches my car pull out from the driveway until I disappear down the street. When I return, he races to the door to kiss and hug me with his sweet little paws. When my brother fights with me, Rudy barks and bites at his legs as a method of protection. The night I separated with my boyfriend, my nugget placed his paw on top of my hand while I cried into my pillow that night. I don't deserve my dog. I don't deserve the gifts he's given me so selflessly and openly.

So why did God intentionally allow humans to live longer than dogs? I don't think I'll ever be able to properly answer that question. As I sit in bed with Rudy, I have to wonder if God chose to impart fractions of His love into the hearts of dogs. Just as Voldemort divided his soul into seven horcruxes, maybe God wanted us to catch a mere glimpse of the relentless love He fosters for each of us. We're blessed with the chance to take in and adopt a number of dogs during our lifetime, which emulates the tumultuous and unceasing waves that represent His devotion to us. With every death comes the birth of a new life; with every dog's passing comes the opportunity to witness the love and endearing affection from another.

I know I spun this topic in a total religious and spiritual direction, and some of you may think I'm stretching this way too thin, but my reflection does not solely rest on those statutes. Rather, a relationship with a dog teaches us the most integral lesson vital to our existence: how to truly love. In light of recent racial agitation, international insecurity, and terrorism threats, we must strive to reel in our fists and, instead, spread out our arms. Forgiveness and love walk hand in hand with one another; one cannot exist without the other.

While we can learn so much from each other, dogs encompass the highest forms of values we should strive to attain. I believe that God created this species in order to provide me with a small window into the love He has for me. No matter what I have said or done, Rudy will always, always sleep by my side at night because he has pardoned the mistakes I committed earlier that day.

Each of us enters this world with a mission to leave it a better place. Throughout our separate journeys, we cultivate new facets of our character and learn how to care selflessly, give endlessly, and love wholeheartedly. We can spend a lifetime trying to achieve these, but never truly do.

Why don't dogs live as long as humans? Because they already know how to love.