Engagement is life.

Engagement is life. Without it, we shut down. With it, we thrive.

I’ve watched this unfold firsthand — in dogs, in people, in myself.

My dog Buster was my mom’s guardian.When she became too sick to play or move freely, his world shrank with hers.

No games. No joy. No spark.

He withdrew. Sometimes he even refused to eat for several days. The grief was physical. The silence was heavy. And without engagement, without emotional and sensory nourishment, his health declined.

Grady, now 12, is walking a different path.

He’s lost most of his hearing. But instead of letting the world fade to black, we’re making it glow.

We’ve added pager training, trail runs, recall games, and creative enrichment — not to “stimulate,” but to connect.

New ways to play. New ways to feel. New fuel for his senses.

And with this kind of engagement, I’m not exaggerating when I say:

He’s reverse aging.

We underestimate how much energy — how much healing — comes from being seen, being needed, being lit up.

Think of people in jobs they hate. Or in relationships where they feel invisible.

Health declines. Energy drains. Because disengagement is a quiet thief.

We need to stop treating engagement as an “extra.” It’s not dessert. It’s the meal. It’s life-affirming. Protective. Regulating. Healing.

For dogs. For people. For all of us.

So here’s your reminder:

Choose engagement. For yourself. For your dogs. For the ones who might seem tired, but are really just starving for connection.

Because engagement is medicine. And it’s never too late to start again.