Question: Does love for an animal tend to bring us back to our own animal existence?

Sri Chinmoy: You love a dog because he is extremely faithful to you, but this does not mean that you have to become a dog. You can use and possess the good quality that the dog has in your human existence without having to enter the animal life. You do not become an animal by showing your affection. What do you get? You get the good qualities of the animal that you love. Just by showing affection to your dog because he is attached to you or because he is very loveable, you are not going to become an animal, for you have already passed that stage.

From:Sri Chinmoy,Service-boat and love-boatman, part 2, Agni Press, 1974
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/sbl_2