I've never had a pet growing up. Wait, scratch that; I did: a Japanese beta fish named Rosie. He was gifted to my dad by a patient, and lived with us for three years (even though he was expected to only live for one). When Rosie died, I remember how adamant my brother was about burying him in our backyard, as well as how against that idea my mother was. (Who buries a fish? And under my flower beds? Absolutely not!) In the end, my mother won (duh), and we said a few words, gave Rosie a final salute, and rather unceremoniously flushed him down the toilet. I clearly remember the day because my brother, who was five at the time, was sobbing uncontrollably and my mother was secretly relieved because now she didn't have to clean Rosie's fishbowl.

Yep, that was Rosie, our first and only pet. I do miss him, the way you miss running out to the ice cream truck or playing "chicken" in the pool, because like those things, he too was a part of my childhood.

Deep down, I have always wanted a dog. Like all little kids do, my siblings and I begged my parents for a puppy growing up. But they always said no because, "A dog is a lot of responsibility" and, "We'll probably end up doing all of the work." So this year, I decided that if I couldn't have a pet of my own (not, now, anyway), I was going to do the next best thing: volunteer at my town's local animal shelter.

One thing that I realized immediately after I began volunteering was that my parents were 100 percent right: having a pet is a ton of work, as well as a huge responsibility! You have to feed them, clean up after them, take them to the vet, and make sure they're always given attention and love; it's like having a child!

But it's worth it. All of the time and work that it takes is worth it, without a doubt. The animals at the shelter have ways of worming their way into your heart. I remember when I first started volunteering, one dog would bark at me or cower in fear. Now, whenever I walk in, she comes to the front of her cage and sits, waiting for me to pet her.

We often think of ourselves as the most intelligent animal, as above the rest because we have the power of speech and opposable thumbs. But they will loyally wait for us every day to come home, they won't care about how we look or what we wear and they will always love us unconditionally. That is a different kind of love, one that everyone should experience.

Although we think we know more than they do, in reality, we have so much more to learn.